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HISTORIC PROLOGUES. 






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HISTORIC PROLOGUES; 

& o 7 *f 

OR, 


CHARACTERS AND EVENTS, 

FROM THE CONQUEST 


TO THE 

* 2.2 


DEATH OF GEORGE THE THIRD. 

S' Xy 

v;'C i 1 

WITH NOTES. 


BY THE REV. JOHN DAVIES, A. M„ 

\ > 

ST. MARY HALL, OXFORD. 


i > 

■> >> > 

> 

LONDON: 

PRINTED FOR G. AND W. B. WHITTAKER, 

AVE MARIA LANE. 


1821 












LONDON: 

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 

Noithumberlawi-court. 



* 






/ 


H3% 


TO HIS MAJESTY, 

» ' * 

\ 

THE KING. 


SIRE, 


Like Your Illustrious Father, born 
and educated in this renowned Country, 
glorying in the Name of Briton and adding 
Lustre to the Throne of Your Ancestors, the 



:j dedication. 

. ■»% 

pages of History brighten with Your Reign. 

With humble confidence—inspired by the 
Urbanity and Condescension of so Enlightened 
a Sovereign—a gleaner in the field of British 
history has ventured to solicit the Royal 
Favor to a subject, ever dear to the Heait 

of a Patriot King. 

Such Patronage Your Majesty has deigned 
to bestow, by permitting this dedication to 

bear Your August Name. 

Your Mind, Sire, highly cultivated and 
enlarged by a long acquaintance with public 
and with literary men, would revolt at any 
tributary offering, save this of Allegiance, of 
Gratitude, and of Respect; and with these 
sentiments. Sire, I humbly subscribe myself. 

Your Majesty’s, 

Faithful and devoted Subject, 

JOHN DAVIES. 


PREFACE. 


To collect the scattered materials of History, 
and bring them within the reach of memory, 
is the object of the present work. How far 
the author has succeeded, must be left to the 
judgment of a discerning Public. 


Camden, Rapin, Smollet, Hume, Goldsmith, 
Gibbon, Clarendon, and Bolingbroke, are the 
authorities cited. 













































































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INDEX. 


William the Conqueror 

William Rufus. 

Henry the First. 

Stephen. 

Henry the Second .... 
Richard the First .... 

John . 

Henry the Third. 

Edward the First. 

Edward the Second . .. 
Edward the Third .... 
Richard the Second. .. 
Henry the Fourth .... 

Henry the Fifth. 

Henry the Sixth. 

Edward the Fourth . .. 

Edward the Fifth. 

Richard the Third .... 
Henry the Seventh . .. 
Henry the Eighth .... 
Edward the Sixth .... 

Mary. 

Elizabeth. 

James the First .. 

Charles the First. 

Cromwell. 

Richard Cromwell.... 
Charles the Second . .. 
James the Second .... 
William and Mary ... 

Anne. 

George the First...... 

George the Second.... 

George the Third ., •, 


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HISTORIC PROLOGUES. 


WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR, 


NATURAL SON OF ROBERT DUKE OF NORMANDY. 

[A. D. 1066 .—Reigned 20 Years.] 


Where Hasting’s Cliff o’eriooks the main, 
Harold’s discomfited, and slain; 

Threats and tyranny severe, 

Mark the Conqueror’s career ; 

Lo ! from the Humber to the Tees, 

Wide wasting ruin he decrees. 

And by Heaven’s splendour swore, 

Northumbria s race shou'd be no more f 
Forest laws terrific spring, 

Warning curfews nightly ring; 

Doomsday’s memorable book, 

A scrutinizing inquest took ; 

The native language of the land, 

From Court * was banish’d by command; 

-—But in this desolating hour, 

One privilege escaped his pow’r. 

Juries f by verdict did decide, 

Britain’s bulwark! Britain’s pride 1 

* William prohibited the use of the English language in the Courts of Law, 

t Trial by Jury was introduced into England by the Saxons about the 9th 
century, and is supposed to date its origin from Greece. Courts of Exchequer 
and Chancery established. The four terms of law adjusted. Sheriffs ap¬ 
pointed, and sealing of writs introduced. 





NOTES ON WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 


Frequent insurrections on the part of the English, and 
their intended massacre of the Normans on Ash-Wed 
nesday, only exasperated the mind of the Conqueror, and 
enabled him to enrich his followers by confiscation and 
plunder. On one occasion he gave orders that the hands 
of those who disputed his authority should be cut off, 
and their eyes put out; after which he dispersed them 
through the country as a terror to the people. Among 
the victims of his treachery, were Edwin, Earl of Chester, 
and Earl WalthofF. 

The concluding part of William’s life was imbittered by 
the misconduct of his son Robert, who laid claim to Nor¬ 
mandy, and finally resorted to open rebellion. In a skirmish 
under the walls of Gerbury, the father and son were personally 
opposed to each other. Accident revealed the secret, at a 
moment when the king was dismounted, and in the most 
imminent danger. Robert dropped his sword, fell on his 
knees, and implored forgiveness. 

It is not unworthy of remark, that the same commander 
who formerly led an army of Normans to conquer England, 
now returned with an army of English to subdue Normandy. 

Edgar Atheling, the Saxon heir to the crown, and whose 
sister was married to Malcolm, prevailed on the Scotch to 
assert his claim. When William met them in the field, 
instead of a battle he proposed a negotiation. Edgar was 
included in the treaty, and passed the remainder of his life 
in privacy and retirement. 

1 Gregory VII., was the first who assumed the power to dispose of king' 
doms; and it was he who suffered the Emperor Henry VI., of Germany 
to wait thr days at the palace-gates before he would admit him to an 
audience. 


4 


WILLIAM RUFUS, 

SECOND SON OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 

[A. D. 1087 .—Reigned 12 Years.] 


Rufus, a ruffian in fight, 

Obtain’d the crown, his brother’s right; 

Wearing the diadem secure, 

In spite of primogeniture ; 

Robert to arms indignant flies, 

But soon submits to compromise. 

Plunder'd, imposed on, and betray’d, T 
A mortgage of his Dukedom’s made, r 
To follow Peter’s wild crusade. 

Rufus the northern frontier sweeps, 

And for her Malcolm Scotland weeps. 

Swoln with impiety, and pride, 

Rufus, Omnipotence defied ! * 

Taunting, with blasphemy and scorn. 

The Pilot’s terror of the storm. 

—A random shot from Tyrrel’s bow, 

Laid unrelenting Rufus low. 

* Hastening to suppress an insurrection in Normandy, William set sail in 
a storm, telling the crew that they never heard of a king that was drowned. 

The Tower, Westminster-hall, and London-bridge built. 



NOTES ON WILLIAM RUFUS. 


Transient broils and unsuccessful treasons were in this 
reign sunk in the tumult of Crusades, which engrossed the at¬ 
tention of Europe, and remain singular monuments of human 
folly. Peter the Hermit, a native of Amiens in Picardy, 
revived the project of leading the armies of Christendom 
against the Infidels, and driving them out of Palestine. 

Urban the Second, who then held the Pontificate, sum¬ 
moned a council at Clermont. An expedition was instantly 
resolved on, the whole assembly exclaiming with one voice, 
“ It is the will of God!” These words, considered as the 
result of divine influence, were afterwards employed as a 
motto for the sacred standard. 

Persons of all ranks flew to arms, and, trusting to the 
supernatural interposition of Heaven for a supply of their 
wants, made no provision for subsistence on their march. 
Driven to obtain by plunder, what they vainly expected 
from miracles, their first fury discharged itself on the 

* s» 

Jews , but when Jews were not to be found, the work of 
pillage continued without distinction. This precarious mode 
of supply was followed by disease. The pictures of famine 
and pestilence are uniformly disgustful; and imagination 
may suggest the nature of their sufferings and their resources. 

From the incredible number of seven hundred thousand, 
these fanatic adventurers were reduced to twenty thousand 
when they reached the gates of Jerusalem. After a siege of 
five weeks the city was carried by assault, and the garrison 
and inhabitants put to the sword. Courage protected not 
the brave, nor submission the timid ! 

Rufus, during his reign, had considerable altercations with 
Lanfranc and Anselm, Archbishops of Canterbury, concerning 
the right of investiture, the celibacy of the clergy, and the 
legitimate power of the Pope over that of the sovereign. 


6 


HENRY THE FIRST, surnamed BEAUCLERC, 

FOURTH SON OF WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 

[A. D. 1100 .—Reigned 35 Years.] 


Hal Beauclerc mounted Britain’s throne, 
Tho’ Robert’s claims to all were known: 
After valiant efforts tried, 

The rightful monarch, set aside, l 
A blind and aged prisoner died! J 
Fruitless the fraternal tie. 

To shorten his captivity ! 

Cruel as Henry’s deeds appear, 

Britons his memory revere : 

Indulgent charters he bestow’d ; 

Abolish’d, too, the feudal code; 

From lethargy awoke the law. 

And kept licentiousness in awe. 

Hal wed Matilda # to combine. 

The Saxon with the Norman line ; 

Their only son,—(fair Maude to save !) 

Sunk beneath the stormy wave ! 

Wretched Henry from that day. 

Became to poignant grief a prey. 


* Niece to Edgar Atheling. 



NOTES ON HENRY THE FIRST. 


Henry wisely foresaw that a crown usurped against 
justice would not be secure without endeavouring to gain 
the affections of his subjects. He therefore made conces¬ 
sions in favour of the church, and granted his barons and 
military tenants the power of bequeathing by will their 
money and personal estates. Profiting by his brother 
Robert’s indiscretions, he landed in Normandy, and, after 
a faint struggle, took possession of the kingdom. On his 
return to England, he imprisoned his unfortunate brother in 
Cardiff castle for the remainder of his life ;—a period of 
twenty-six years! 

His superior eloquence and judgment would have given 
him an ascendency, even had he been born in a private 
station ; and his personal bravery was unquestionable. His 
literary pursuits, which acquired him the name of Beauclerc, 
or the Scholar, abated nothing of the activity and vigilance of 
his government. Though the learning of that age was more 
calculated to corrupt than improve the understanding, his 
natural good sense protected him from the pedantry and 
superstition of the times. Susceptible of the sentiments of 
friendship, as well as of resentment, his ambition might have 
been esteemed moderate, but for the injustice and severity of 
his conduct towards his brother. 

Henry had a daughter named Matilda, first married to the 
Emperor Henry V., and afterwards to Geoffry Plantagenet, 
of the house of Anjou. The fruit of this last marriage was 
Henry, who on the death of Stephen succeeded to the 
throne. / 

Maude, Countess of Perche, who perished on her return 
from Normandy was a natural daughter. Henry left a 
numerous family of illegitimate children, of whom Robert, 
Earl of Gloucester, was the chief. 


8 


STEPHEN, 

SON OF STEPHEN, EARL OF BLOIS, BY ADELA, DAUGHTER OF 
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR. 

[A. D. 1135 .—Reigned 18 Years.] 


Stephen seiz’d the regal rein. 

Mindless of Matilda’s claim; 

Who, by Gloucester’s council led. 

To Count Plantagenet was wed ; 

Fierce the conflicts which ensued. 

Each alternately subdued: 

Castles* multiplied arise. 

For defence, or enterprise. 

From Stephen, valour’s darling son. 
The palm of victory is won; 

And on the throne, a rival queen, 

Of haughty dignity is seen. 

Few minds, alas ! can bear the weight* 
Imposed by eminence of state: 

Her pride, intolerable grown, 

Hurl’d Matilda from the throne ! 

And Stephen, from a dungeon led, 
Reign’d in proud Matilda’s stead ; 

—At length by compact ’twas agreed, 
Matilda’s son shou’d next succeed. 


* Above eleven hundred were built 



NOTES ON STEPHEN. 


The first acts of an usurper are always popular. Stephen, 
in order to secure his tottering throne, passed a charter, 
granting several privileges to the different orders of the state. 
To the nobility, a permission to hunt in their own forests; to 
the clergy, certain powers which had been suspended; and, 
to the people, a restoration of the laws of Edward the Con¬ 
fessor. To fix himself more securely, he took possession of 
the royal treasures at Winchester, and the Pope ratified his 
title in consideration of receiving a part of the money. 

Matilda, asserting her claim to the crown, and assisted by 
Robert Duke of Gloucester, natural son of the late king, 
landed in Sussex with a feeble retinue, and took possession 
of Arundel Castle. An instance here occurs of generosity 
and politeness in Stephen, which it would be uncandid not 
to relate. The place was immediately besieged by the King’s 
troops, and on the point of surrendering, when it was repre¬ 
sented to Stephen, Jthat as the castle belonged to the Queen 
dowager, it would be contrary to the established laws of 
respect due to royalty to take it by force. Matilda was not 
only permitted to come forth in safety, but Stephen, with 
chivalrous attention, conducted her to Bristol. Fortune soon 
after changed sides, arfid Stephen himself was taken prisoner, 
but not till he had defended himself to the last extremity. 

Matilda was now formally crowned, but her imperious 
temper became her ruin. Stephen was again recognised as 
King, and exchanged his dungeon for a throne. 

A new antagonist appeared in Henry, Matilda’s son , who 
had now attained the age of sixteen, and had already given 
proofs of valour and policy. A treaty reconciled all parties, 
and as Eustace, the only son of Stephen, was dead, it was 
agreed that Stephen should remain in quiet possession during 
his life, and that Henry should be his successor. 


10 


HENRY THE SECOND, 

SON OF GEOFFREY OF ANJOU, BY MATILDA, DAUGHTER OF HENRY I. 

' [A. D. 1154 .—Reigned 34 Years.] 


Star of Plantagenet! arise, 

Annihilate thy enemies ! 

Level the baronial tower, 

Check the stride of papal power ; 

Drive mercenaries from thy shore ; 

On foreign aid rely no more ; 

Bid ermin’d law # , with balanc’d hand. 

Make her circuit through the land; 

Scotland, Wales, Hibernia, pay 
Submission to thy sov’reign sway ! 

Tho’ fam’d for bravery in arms; 

Tho’ fam’d for love of beauty’s f charms. 

Yet Henry meanly stoop’d to whine, 

A pilgrim scourg’d at Becket's shrine ! 

—To curse the remnant of his days. 

Rebellion’s voice his children raise. 

Long by adverse fortune cross’d, 

In listlessness, and languor lost, 

Henry, once the warrior’s pride. 

In moping melancholy died ! 

* Judges first appointed to go the circuit. * 
t Rosamond. 

This aera boasted the Anacreon of England, Walter Mapes, who supported 
in humorous and satirical verse, the cause of the married clergy against Pope 
Innocent. 



NOTES ON HENRY THE SECOND. 


In this Prince centred all claims, both Norman and Saxon, 
to the crown of England. His father was Geoffrey of Anjou, 
who, from wearing a sprig of broom in his bonnet, was called 
Plantagenet; a name illustrious in English chronicles. Henry 
was so dotingly fond of his eldest son, that he had him 
crowned during his life. Insolence and ingratitude were 
the reward of his extravagant affection;—=this worthless 
youth died in the flower of his age. 

Henry began his reign by humbling the power of the 
Barons, who, entrenched in their fortified mansions, assumed 
a tone of defiance inconsistent with the public safety. For 
the better administration of justice, the kingdom was 
divided into circuits. Mercenary soldiers were dismissed, 
and charters were granted to many towns, by virtue of which 
the citizens acknowledged no superior but the King himself. 
From this sera, the government of feudal tyranny was im¬ 
paired, and the ground-work of English liberty begun. 

To divert the minds of the people from the atrocious murder 
of Becket, Henry planned an expedition, which led to the 
subjugation of Ireland, then consisting of five principalities, 
and each governed by its own respective monarch. This 
island has ever since remained an appendage to the English 
crown. 

The story of Fair Rosamond, daughter of Lord Clifford, is 
of a nature peculiarly romantic. Passionately beloved by the 
King, and mortally hated by the Queen (Eleanor,) this pa¬ 
ragon of beauty was artfully concealed in a labyrinth at 
Woodstock. Jealousy and revenge were too ingenious for 
love, and a visit from the wife was fatal to the mistress. 

Henry’s declining years were imbittered by the unnatural 
rebellion of his own children, encouraged by the mother; 
and he was often heard to mutter the most awful maledictions 
on himself, and those around him! 


12 


RICHARD THE FIRST, CCEUR DE LION, 

ELDEST SURVIVING SON OF HENRY THE SECOND, 

[A. D. 1L 89 .—Reigned 9 Years.] 


See Richard, with a lion’s rage, 

Foremost in the ranks engage ! 

Signal was the conflict won, 

O’er Saladin at Ascalon ! 

“ Conquer’d Pagans fly before him, 

“ Christian warriors adore him 
Far and wide his valour rings, 

Rousing jealousy in kings : 

False allies withhold their aid ; 

Suspicion weakens the Crusade: 

Add, to a brother’s * treachery, 

Shipwreck, and captivity ! 

By Leopold f a pris’ner made,— 

England enormous ransom % paid ! 

Richard’s spirit unsubdued. 

Plans of conquest still pursued ; 

Investing Chaluz’ treasur’d walls, 

By Bertram’s hand brave Richard falls. 

* John. 

t Leopold Duke of Austria, whom Richard had offended at the siege of 
Acre. Coeur de Lion not only laboured in person to repair the ruined ramparts, 
but gave out orders for other leaders to work at the head of their men. All 
cheerfully obeyed, except the Duke of Austria, who, with an air of insolence, 
observed, that “ his father having been neither bricklayer, nor mason, he did 
“ not understand the business !” This so exasperated Richard, that he kicked 
him out of his tent, and ordered his banner to be disgraced. 

Berengaria, daughter of the King of Navarre, betrothed to Richard, was dis¬ 
courteously treated by the King of Cyprus. Richard afterwards seized upon 
the island, loaded its King with silver chains, and transferred the possession of 
it to Guy de Lusignan. 

Three Lions passant first borne on the shield of England. 

X About three hundred thousand pounds sterling. 



NOTES ON RICHARD THE FIRST. 


Richard, during his campaigns abroad, acquired more 
glory than advantage. If heroism be confined to brutal and 
ferocious valour, Richard Plantagenet will stand confessedly 
high on the list of heroes. Long after his return from the 
Holy War, the terror of his name was employed by the 
Syrian mothers to silence infants, and by the Turkish cavalry 
to chide the unruly steed. 

No candid mind can be prevailed on to believe that a 
soldier, so free and fearless in the use of his lance, would 
descend to whet a dagger against his valiant comrade, the 
Marquis of Montserrat, who it appears was slain at Tyre by 
the hand of an assassin, avowedly employed for that purpose 
by a petty Asiatic prince, known by the name of “ The Old 
Man of the Mountain.” Insinuations, and falsehoods, equally 
groundless, were circulated by the French king, from motives 
of policy or envy, and blasted the laurels of the English 
conqueror. 

After concluding a hasty treaty with Saladin, Richard 
embarked for Europe. In his route through the Austrian 
dominions he was detained as a prisoner, and, soon after his 
release, became the victim of a premature grave. The space 
of a few months concluded also the life and glories of Saladin ; 
and though the Oriental historians dw T ell on his edifying 
death, which happened at Damascus, they seem ignorant of 
the equal distribution of his alms among people of different 
religions, and the display of a shroud instead of a standard, 
to admonish mankind of the instability of human greatness. 

The wound which occasioned Richard’s death, proved fatal 
only from the unskilful treatment of the surgeon. Finding 
his end approach, he ordered the Archer who had shot him 
to be brought into his presence. Richard, asked “ what 

“ injury he had done him?”--“ What injury have you 

" done me!” replied the prisoner, “ you killed, with your 
“ own hands, my father, and my two brothers ; and you 
“ intended to have hanged myself. I am now in your power, 
“ and you may take revenge; but I will endure your torments 
u with pleasure, since it is my consolation to know that I 
“ have rid the world of a tyrant 1” 

Richard, struck with the reply, and humbled by the ap¬ 
proach of death, forgave the man, and ordered him to be 
set at liberty; but, no sooner had Richard expired, than the 
object of his clemency was flayed alive! 



14 


JOHN, 

YOUNGEST BROTHER OF HENRY THE SECOND. 

[A. D. 1199 -—Reigned 1 7 Years.] 


John, to ev’ry vice allied. 

Was infamy personified! 

Arthur * by secret murder dies. 

Vile usurpation’s sacrifice ! 

Constance, the mother, raving, wild, 
Distracted, mourn’d her murder’d child ; 
Philip heard the frantic sound; 

Papalf thunder gather’d round ; 

And John submissive bends the knee. 

As vassal of the Roman see ! 

Such abject baseness to oppose, 

Th’ exasperated Barons rose, 

And made the king’s reluctant hand. 

Sign the great charter of the land ! 

—Fain wou’d the wretch revoke the deed, 
Himself confirm’d at Runnymede. 

Watch, Britons, watch, with jealous eye, 
This safe-guard of your liberty ; 

Defend it from encroaching power ; 
Preserve it to life’s latest hour ; 

Bequeath it with paternal care, 

For ages yet unborn to share ! 


* Arthur was the son of John's elder brother Geoffrey. His right to the 
throne was for some time maintained by Philip King of France; but John 
bribed the faithless monarch to abandon the cause of the infant prince, who 
soon after fell into his uncle's power, and no more was heard of him. 
t By this interdict, and sentence of excommunication, the kingdom was 

f iven to PhilipJohn’s subjects were absolved from their allegiance ;— 
'ublic worship was suppressed And the rite of sepulture denied. 

Among the remarkable events which transpired abroad during this reign, 
it may be proper to notice the taking of Constantinople by the French and 
Venetians ; and also the Crusade against the Albigenses, which gave rise to 
the Inquisition. 





NOTES ON JOHN. 


Abject in adversity, overbearing in success, and de¬ 
spised by all the princes of Europe, John exhibited a com¬ 
plication of vices, ruinous to himself, and destructive to his 
people. The mysterious death of his nephew Arthur, the 
legitimate heir to the throne, contributed as little to the repose, 
as to the credit of the king. Odious and contemptible, both 
in public and private life, he affronted the Barons by his 
insolence, dishonoured their families by his gallantries, en¬ 
raged them by his tyranny, and excited discontent in all 
ranks, by endless exactions, and arbitrary impositions. 

The conduct of the Pope, in appointing Langton (though 
a learned and deserving character) to the see of Canterbury, 
sufficiently displayed the opinion entertained of this recreant 
king at the court of Rome, although his holiness qualified 
this flagrant act of usurping [power, by a present of some ri¬ 
diculous baubles, consisting of four golden rings, set with 
precious stones, and, to enhance the value of his present, 
vouchsafed to unravel their occult and varied properties. 
He begged John to consider seriously their form , their 
number , their metallic value, and their orient brightness . 
Their form , he said, being round, shadowed out Eternity, 
which had neither beginning nor end ; and he ought thence 
to learn his duty of aspiring—from things temporal, to things 
eternal. The number four, being a square, denoted steadiness 
of mind, not to be subverted either by adversity or prosperity, 
—fixed for ever on the firm basis of the four cardinal virtues. 
Gold , the most precious of metallic substances, signified wis¬ 
dom, —that unspotted mirror of all perfection. The verdant 
colour of the emerald, represented Faith; the azure of the 
sapphire, Hope; the redness of the ruby, Charity ; and the 
splendour of the topaz, Good works ! By these conceits, Inno¬ 
cent the Third, endeavoured to repay John for one of the 
most important prerogatives he thought fit to deprive him of. 

The last act of John’s reign was to assemble an army for 
the purpose of resisting the ambitious views of the French 
Monarch, who, invited by the Barons, was endeavouring to 
set his son Lewis upon the throne of England. Directing his 
march toward Lincoln, John’s route lay along the shore, 
subject to be overflowed at high water. The king, ignorant 
of this circumstance, lost all his carriages, treasures, and 
baggage, by the influx of the tide. Grief for the loss he had 
sustained, and the distracted state of his affairs, threw him 
into a fever, which proved fatal. 


/ 


HENRY THE THIRD, 

SON OF JOHN. 

[A.D. 1216 .—Reigned Sfi" Years .] $ 6 . 


Scarce the ninth year did Hal complete, 

When plac’d on th’ Imperial seat. 

Base foreigners ascendance gain. 

With all their cringing, courtly train; 

’Till Pembroke, with indignant hand. 

Drove the locusts from the land: 

Back they came when Pembroke died, 

Encouraged by the Royal bride 

Strange ways and means the monarch tries, 

To raise precarious supplies ; 

Importunate from door to door. 

And loudly clamorous for more ! 

On Lewes’ cliff by Leicester beat, 

A prison follow’d Hal’s defeat; 

The galling and disgraceful chain j 
Edward f resolved to burst in twain, 

And dare the tented field again: J 

To the fierce combat Leicester calls, 

Where Leicester, brave, in battle J falls! 

Arous’d by wrongs, Baronial Lords 
Brandish aloft their angry swords; 

And Henry’s varied fortunes show, 

What ills from favoritism flow. 

* Eleanor of Provence, whose needy followers filled every office and 
command, and whose unprincipled rapacity was exceeded only by their pride 
and insolence. So coarsely turbulent were the Barons become, that Simon 
deMontford, Earl of Leicester, behaved w ith personal rudeness to the King, 
and accused him of falsehood to his face! 

t Prince Edward, afterward Edward I. 

J The battle of Evesham, after which the king was set at liberty. 

A splendid instance of intellectual improvement was exhibited by Roger 
Bacon, a Franciscan monk, whose comprehensive genius, aided by intense 
study, embraced the science of optics and astronomy, and extended to almost 
every operation in chemistry. With the composition and effects of gunpowder 
he was also acquainted ; lmt, in the reign of ignorance, this knowledge was 
considered as the effect of magic. 





NOTES ON IIENRY THE THIRD. 


Lewis, who had been invited over by the Barons, did not 
long retain the crown. Forsaken by his new subjects, and 
defeated at;Lincoln by the skill and vigilance of Pembroke, 
the French intruder found it necessary to relinquish his 
pretensions. 

No sooner was Henry enabled to take the reins into his 
own hands, than violent struggles for power commenced 
between the young King, and his Barons. To make himself 
independent of their assistance, Henry had recourse to the 
most ridiculous schemes for raising money. He would invite 
himself to the houses of his subjects, and always expected a 
present at his departure. The demands he made on the 
Jews were merciless, and without remorse. Even minors 
and orphans did not escape his rapacity; and the sums, thus 
obtained, were lavished on the vermin of a vicious court. 

In this disordered state of things, the Pope’s legate made 
his triumphal entry, and showed as little reluctance to the 
work of pillage, as the monarch who had set him the example. 
In every demand, the King made for himself, the legate took 
care to make one for the Pope also. Thus harrassed by 
extortions, the Barons, after an uninterrupted course of suf¬ 
fering for the space of forty years, renounced their alle¬ 
giance, and sent the King notice, that they considered him 
only as the common enemy of mankind. 

Both sides were now up in arms, and the country was again 
embroiled in civil war. The Earl of Leicester defeated the 
King at Lewes, and took him and his son prisoners. The 
latter found means to escape; raised a body of forces, 
gained the battle at Evesham, and restored his father to the 
crown. 

During this reign, a Parliament was called, in which the 
King was compelled to give orders, that two knights from 
each county should assemble to represent their respective 
shires, and, together with two burgesses from the corporate 
towns, deliberate for the general benefit of the nation. This 
is the first confirmed outline of cm English House of Commons ; 
and which annul’d the self-created authority of the Barons 
appointed at Oxford, and known by the name of the mad 
Parliament. 

Since the feudal laws had relaxed in their severity, the 
situation of the people had undergone a favourable change. 
The establishment of Corporation Charters had rescued men 
from arbitrary power, and enabled them to cultivate a spirit 
of freedom unknown to their ancestors. 


18 


EDWARD THE FIRST, 

SON OP HENRY TI1E THIRD. 

[A. D. 1272 .—Reigned 34 Years.} 


Edward, as Longshanks known by name, 
Cambria’s hardy race o’ercame, 

And on his eldest son entails. 

The principality of Wales. 

In Scotland, where disputes ran high, 

Upon contested sovereignty, 

Edward, as referee, decreed, 

That Baliol shou’d as King succeed ; 

—’Twas but the shadow of a shade ! 

For Baliol was a Vassal made! 

Now Bruce and Wallace, fam’d in song. 

Rose to avenge their country’s wrong ; 

Edward exclaim’d, “ I hope to see,” 

“ Scotland destroy’d from sea to sea !” 

When Edward’s race was nearly run, 

He this advice bequeathed his son :— 

“ Recall not thy fav’rite Gaveston ; J 
“ Send my heart secure to dwell, 

“ In Palestine’s sepulchral cell, 

“ But bear my banner’d-bones on high, 

“ To panic-strike the enemy!” 

Westminster Abbey finished, sixty years in building.—Spectacles invented 
by a monk of Pisa.—The magnetic needle, or Mariner’s compass, brought into 
use.—Courts of Kings Bench and Common Pleas arranged on their present 
establishment.—Coals first introduced for fuel. Two hundred and eighty Jews 
hanged for clipping and coining. 



NOTES ON EDWARD THE FIRST. 

Wh f.n Edward was in Palestine, the envenomed dagger of 
a Mahometan enthusiast might have proved fatal, but for the 
prompt and affectionate solicitude of Eleonora his Queen, 
who sucked the poison from the wound, and saved her hus¬ 
band’s life at the hazard of her own. 

At the commencement of this reign, a better administration 
of the laws was introduced. To certain knights in every 
county, a permission was granted, enabling them, in con¬ 
junction with the Sheriffs, to adopt measures for the preser¬ 
vation of public tranquillity. Hence arose the appointment 
of justices of the peace. 

Upon Edw r ard’s return from abroad he seized the first 
favourable conjuncture of uniting Wales with England. After 
an arduous struggle the object was accomplished. A dis¬ 
puted succession in Scotland offered the next scope for 
military adventure, but was found far more difficult in its 
prosecution and attainment. In both enterprises, Edward 
left behind him the most vindictive memorials of his power. 
In Wales, the harp of the minstrel* had ceased to animate; 
and in Scotland, every record and monument of antiquity 
were destroyed. 

A private gentleman, by the name of Wallace, undertook 
the deliverance of his country. Brave and athletic, he ex¬ 
hibited in various campaigns a degree of patience under 
fatigue and famine, almost beyond human endurance :—even 
the defeat at Falkirk only served to stimulate this intrepid 
leader to new resistance. Though wandering from mountain 
to mountain, and destitute of resources, his proud spirit of 
independence was unsubdued. At length the treachery of 
Monteith placed him in the power of his enemies. Edward, 
to strike the Scots with terror, ordered him to be conducted 
in chains to London, where he was executed with the most 
brutal ferocity. 

Edward imposed so many new and arbitrary sources of 
revenue, that the enraged nobles insisted upon his adding 
a new clause to Magna Charta, by which it was enacted, that 
no tax or imposition should thenceforth be levied without the 
consent of Parliament. 


• Edward’s cruelty to the Cambrian Bards, (disbelieved by many writers) 
was the foundation of Gray’s beautiful and sublime Ode entitled “ The Bard.' 


20 


EDWARD THE SECOND, 

SON OF THE FORMER KING. 

[A. D. 1307. —Reigned 19 years.] 


Ned Two, a wayward stubborn fool, 

Gaveston recall’d ; gave Spencers rule; 

(Minions mark’d by public hate, 

Alike in favor, and in fate.) 

At Bannockburn new sorrows rise, 

Embittering Edward’s destinies ! 

Exil’d from domestic peace, 

Hourly his sufferings increase; 

Depos’d, deserted and disgrac’d, 

In ruffian-restriction plac’d,” 

Streaming tears* the want supplied, 

Which senseless ridicule denied. 

Mock’d by Mortimer’s hauteur, 

What insults did the king endure ! 

Scorn’d by the adulteress Queen, 

Read Berkley’s agonizing scene ! 

* When, in addition to other indignities, they brought him, in the depth of 
winter cold and dirty water, the wretched king burst into tears, exclaiming, 
t( You see I have warm water in spite of you.” 

All those concerned in the sufferings and murder of this unhappy monarch, 
were made examples of signal retribution. Gurney, died by the hands of the 
executioner;—Mautravers perished for wantEdmund, Earl of Kent, the 
king’s brother, was beheadedMortimer was hanged;—and Isabel, the 
queen, imprisoned for life. 





NOTES ON EDWARD THE SECOND. 


Unmindful of the injunctions of his dying father, and 
governed by the seductive influence of his once exiled fa¬ 
vourite, the war in Scotland was hardly permitted to solicit the 
King's attention. Advantage was taken of Edward’s su¬ 
pineness, and even his defeat at Bannockburn was found 
insufficient to rouse him from his lethargy. 

Among those who appeared in open rebellion against the 
King, was Edmond, Earl of Lancaster, a nobleman of tur¬ 
bulent disposition, but highly endeared to the Barons and 
the people. On his march to join the Scotch, with whom he 
had long held a correspondence, he was defeated, and made 
prisoner by Sir Andrew Harela; who had him instantly be¬ 
headed without the form of trial. In the following year, the 
brave Harela, (who had been rewarded with the Earldom of 
Carlisle) was convicted in his turn of corresponding with the 
Scotch, and perished on a scaffold. 

Mortimer, one of the rebel Barons, whom Edward had 
sent to the Tower, effected his escape, to France. Young, 
and of prepossessing appearance, he so far attracted the 
notice of the Queen, who had fled from England in dis¬ 
gust, that in this nobleman’s society, she forgot the sacred 
and paramount duty y she owed to her husband. 

Edward, embarrassed by difficulties of no ordinary mag¬ 
nitude, entertained a hope of escaping the contempt and 
vengeance of his subjects by retreating into Wales. The 
hue and cry of public indignation pursued him; and the place 
of his concealment being discovered, he was conducted back 
to the capital amid the insults and revilings of the populace. 
During his confinement in the Tower, it was deemed expe¬ 
dient to transfer the sceptre to his son, a youth of fourteen, 
and the Queen mother was appointed regent during the 
minority. Short is the interval between the prison and the 
grave of a King! Never did a fallen monarch sustain greater 
indignities, or greater torments ! Sufferings like his must 
ever excite commiseration, and the cruelty of his death, so 
disproportionate to his guilt, is unexampled on human record. 


EDWARD THE THIRD, 

SON Ob' EDWARD THE SECOND. 

[A. D. 1327.— Reigned 50 years .] 


Ned Three, the throne fill'd fifty years. 
In arms ’gainst Scotland soon appears : 

The worthless Mortimer’s undone: 
Cannon’s* thunder Cressy won: 

Swift the tale of Poictiers spread; 

—A captive Kingf in triumph led! 

And Citizens, in gorgeous train, 

Crowns J and sceptres entertain ! 

Conspicuous above the rest, 

Stands the Black Prince, in armour drcst; 
Brilliant, but short, was his career ! 

Drop on the Hero’s tomb a tear. 

The Queen || too, pleading mercy’s cause, 
Commands posterity’s applause : 

— A Queen who prov’d her lofty claim, 

To share a husband’s martial fame! 


* Caullon first ns ® d at the battle of Cressy; and the motto and plume 
worn by the King of Bohemia, are still worn by the Princes of r ri 9 

famous battle of Hallidown hill fought. J ' V alcs> ‘ 1 he 

t John, King of France, and his eldest son. 

{Henry Picard Lord Mayor of London, had tire honour of entertaining tire 
captive Kings of France and Scotland, and the King of Cyprus at onetable 
with the most hospitable magnificence 8 ^ ? at one ta!)Ie > 

II Philippa, implored her husband to forgive the condemned citireus of Calais 
In Board's absence abroad, she defeated David Bruce, the King of Scot 
land, at Neville Cross, near Durham. g acot 

fions reformation.—Order of the Garter instituted. el1 " 



NOTES ON EDWARD THE THIRD. 


During the King’s minority, the government was intrusted to the 
protectorship of the Earl of Lancaster, assisted by a regency. From 
a feigned moderation, Mortimer declined being one of the number ; 
but though he left to this regency the outward forms and semblance 
of power, he shared with the Queen Dowager the revenues of the 
state, and the supreme authority. 

Edward, in due time, resolved to destroy an influence so disgrace¬ 
ful to the nation, and restrictive to himself. His mother, who took 
no pains to conceal her criminal attachment, resided with her favorite 
in the castle of Nottingham. Every evening the gates were locked, 
and the keys carried to the Queen. Edward and a confidential party 
of his Barons, had long meditated the destruction of Mortimer, and, 
assisted by the governor, they were admitted by a private subterra¬ 
neous passage into the castle. The obnoxious favourite was sud¬ 
denly seized in an apartment adjoining that of the Queen. In spite of 
her frantic shrieks, her tears, and her entreaties the gentle Mortimer , 
for so she called him, was violently dragged from her presence, and 
soon after consigned to an ignominious death,—without trial, without 
hearing his answer, or examining a witness. The Queen, confined 
to the castle of Risings, survived her disgrace twenty-eight years. 
Edward made occasional visits to his mother, either from motives of 
decency, or, to satisfy himself that her establishment was properly 
conducted, and suitable to her dignity. 

In the early part of his reign, Edward, after several fruitless expe¬ 
ditions into Scotland,—turned his ambitious views to another quar¬ 
ter. A dormant claim to the throne of France, was Edward’s excuse 
for invading the country, though he should have known the Salique 
law was a bar to his pretensions. The victories of Cressy and 
Poictiers followed ; and the splendid achievements of the Black 
Prince derived no small degree of lustre, from the humanity and at¬ 
tention with which he strove to alleviate the misfortunes of his 
captives. 

Edward’s fondness, in declining life, for Alice Pierce, made him 
truly ridiculous. She commanded every thing ; she presided in the 
courts of justice, and the ministers were of her choosing. At a tour¬ 
nament in Smithfield, the King appeared in a triumphal chariot 
with this woman, styling her the lady of the Sun! She returned his 
favours by robbing him, in his last moments, of his rings, jewels, 
and every thing valuable about him. Edward for the lustre of his 
own fame lived too long; his follies became the subject of parlia¬ 
mentary remonstrance, and his people beheld him not only with 
diminished attachment, but with disgust! 


RICHARD THE SECOND, 

SON OF THE BLACK PRINCE, AND GRANDSON OF EDWARD THE THIRD. 

[A. D. 1377.— Reigned 22 years*] 


The Second Richard’s regal sway, 

Degraded sunk from day to day : 

Rebellion, robbery, and blood 
Wean’d from his cause the wise and good. 

When rous’d by insolence acute, 

Wat Tyler smote the loathsome brute, 

Forth sallied an insurgent band, 

’Till check’d by Walworth’s single hand; 

—In the vague moment of surprise, 

Richard the tumult pacifies,. 

Accosting thus the circled ring,— 

“ Will you, my subjects, kill your King? 

“ What tho’ your leader lifeless lays, 

“ I will your drooping spirits raise; 

“ By me your wrongs shall be redress’d 
He spoke ; and uproar sunk to rest. 

One great and rankling cause arose f, 

To multiply the monarch’s foes : 

Hotspur and Percy join the host 
Of Hereford, on Yorkshire’s coast; 

Immur’d ’mid Pomfret’s gloomy walls. 

The Royal V ictim bravely § falls ! 

* The Duke of Gloucester was strangled ; the earl of Arundel beheaded ; 
and Warwick condemned to perpetual imprisonment. 

t His severity and injustice to Hereford surnamed Bolingbroke, afterwards 
Duke of Lancaster, and finally crowned Henry the Fourth. 

+ Sir Pierce Exton, with eight, ruffians, undertook to murder him. When 
the assassins entered the room, Richard sprung forward, wrested a pole-axe 
from the hand of an assailant, and laid four of them dead at his feet. Exton, 
from behind, and unseen by his victim, struck the fatal blow which deprived 
him of his file 



NOTES ON RICHARD THE SECOND. 


Richard was but eleven years of age when he came to the 
throne. Great expectations were formed of his future conduct, from 
the magnanimity he showed during the seditious movements of Tyler 
and his adherents. The rest of his life however by no means ac¬ 
corded with this early specimen. Evil counsellors got possession of 
him. Fond of luxurious pleasure and idle ostentation, he admitted 
the meanest ranks to his familiarity, and his conversation was not 
adapted to impress them with a reverence either for his morals or 
abilities. The elevation of Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, and 
Michael de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk, contributed still more to make 
the King odious, and the following accident completed his overthrow. 

Henry, Duke of Hereford (afterwards Duke of Lancaster, and 
eventually crowned by the title of Henry the Fourth) exhibited a 
charge against the Duke of Norfolk for having spoken seditious 
words against the King. In the absence of proof, it was decreed by 
the Lords in Parliament, that the dispute should be decided by single 
combat. All the formalities were prepared, and the combatants had 
fixed their lances, when the King unexpectedly threw down his 
warder, and the heralds interposed. Both were banished. Norfolk 
soon died of sorrow, and chagrin. Hereford had four years remitted 
of his exile, and was so well received at the French Court, that he 
was on the point of being married to the only daughter of the Duke 
of Berry, when Richard, by meddling insinuation, prevented the 
match. Hereford became indignant, and now first turned his thoughts 
upon acquiring the crown of England. Cool, cautious, discerning, 
and resolute, he was the idol of the soldiery, and the favourite of the 
people. Immensely rich, and by blood or alliance connected with 
the first nobility of the realm, the injustice of his sentence was loudly 
exclaimed against. Flis father, the Duke of Lancaster dying, the 
banished Duke of Hereford, next found his titles and estate confis¬ 
cated and seized on, by the&varicious King, who decreed his banish¬ 
ment should be perpetual. The nation took an interest in the Duke’s 
misfortunes : Richard was at last deposed, and Lancaster elected 
in his stead. Thus was laid the foundation of a contest between the 
houses of York and Lancaster, which broke out in the time of Henry 
the Sixth. 

When Richard, impatient of parliamentary control, consulted the 
judges, they gave it as their opinion that the king was above law , and 
signed a declaration to that effect. One'of the judges however, named 
Belknass, was overheard to say, “ Now I want nothing but a horse, a 
“ hurdle, and a halter, to bring me to the death I deserve for thus 
“ betraying my country.” 


•26 


HENRY THE FOURTH, 

SON OF JOHN OF GAUNT, DUKE OF LANCASTER AND HEREFORD. 

[A. D. 1399 .—Reigned \ 3 years.] 


Usurping Bolingbroke appears, 
Tortur’d with remorse and fears ; 

Lest Mortimer*, the legal heir. 

The sparkling diadem shou’d wear. 

Turbulence, revolt, and hate, 
Convuls'd the fabric of the state ; 

The house of Percy rued the day, 
Which foster’d the usurper’s sway, 
And in a firm decided tone. 

Shook Henry’s title to the throne: 
Owen Glendour, and Douglas, strive, 
To keep rebellion’s torch alive : 
Shrewsbury was Hotspur’s f grave, 
Northumberland the King forgave. 

Henry, to his latest hour, 

Gaz’d on the gew-gaw of his pow’r ! 
Chiding, with a sick-man’s frown. 

His son’s impatience for the crown. 
And envying the sea-boy’s sleep. 
Amid the horrors of the deep ! 


* Mortimer was the true heir apparent, as being descended in a right line 
from Lionel Duke of Clarence, son of Edward lhe Third • whereas Henry was 
descended from John of Gaunt, a younger son of the same Edward. 

t The Earl of Northumberland and his son, called Hotspur, from the im¬ 
petuosity of his temper. 

In the first Parliament assembled by Henry, no less than forty challenges 
. were given and accepted. 

Jh' fai '-- -Henry married Lady Catherine Swynford, sister-in-law ofChaucet the Poet. 




NOTES ON HENRY THE FOURTH. 


From the manner in which Henry obtained the crown, it may 
naturally be imagined that many acts of severity accompanied the 
early part of his reign. Those who opposed his title were visited 
with the most vindictive policy. Henry, though known to have im¬ 
bibed the principles of Wickliffe, was now determined to sacrifice his 
creed to his interest, and procure the aid of the church by wreaking 
vengeance on those who disputed her infallibility. In England no 
penal law had hitherto been enacted against heresy, and as the clergy 
clamoured loudly for the punishment of Wickliffe’s followers, Henry 
availed himself of this opportunity to secure their favour. The weapon 
of annoyance was prepared, and the fetters of prejudice did not long 
remain unemployed. Sautre, a clergyman, had been condemned by 
the convocation at Canterbury ; his sentence was ratified by the 
House of Peers, and the unhappy man suffered at the stake. 

But the utmost precaution and prudence of Henry, could not allay 
the inquietudes which assailed him from every quarter. He had to 
contend with an insurrection in Wales, and an invasion from Scotland. 
The friendship, too, of the Earl of Northumberland was withdrawn, 
because of Henry’s arbitrary interference respecting some prisoners 
of distinction, to whose ransom the noble Earl was exclusively entitled. 
Northumberland now resolved to overturn a throne, which he had 
been the chief instrument in establishing. Plans were' proposed, in 
which the Scots and Welch were to unite their forces, and espouse 
the legitimate claim of Mortimer. A battle was fought at Shrews¬ 
bury, where the King, in person, obtained a complete victory. Hot¬ 
spur, Earl Percy, was killed, after displaying prodigies of valour. 
His father was prevented by sickness from sharing the dangers of the 
field on that day; and when he learnt its disastrous issue, he chose 
rather to throw himself on the mercy of the King, than lead a preca¬ 
rious life in indigence and exile. Northumberland’s connections 
were sv.fliciently powerful to screen him from punishment, and Henry, 
making a merit of necessity, pardoned him. 

Henry was so tormented with the apprehension of losing his au¬ 
thority before his death, that he never retired to rest, without first 
seeing the crown placed upon his pillow ; and chronicles have re¬ 
corded a story of its removal thence, during his sleep, by Prince 
Henry, which brought on a scene of paternal expostulation finely 
improved in the language of our great dramatist. 

In this reign flourished William of Wickham, founder of two col¬ 
leges, one in Winchester, the other in Oxford. 


28 


HENRY THE FIFTH, 

ELDEST SON OF HENRY THE FOURTH. 

[A. D. 1413.— Reigned, 9 iyears.] 


Hero of Agincourt’s proud ranks, 
No more a slave to youthful* * * § pranks. 
Forthwith to Europe’s wondering eyes. 
Display’d the valour of the wise! 

Ill fated France by faction torn, 
(Doom’d a maniac kingf to mourn,) 
Beheld, with anguish’d aching eye. 

The crush of England’s victory ! 

Say shall the hero, high in fame, 
Blend with cruelty his name ? 

—When the dreadful fight was done, 
Unsparing massacre begun J, 

And on the reeking gory plain: 
Defenceless prisoners were slain! 

In Henry, by turns, we trace, 

A mind magnanimous, and base ! 

See where the bigot’s flames arise. 
Prepared for Cobham*s§ agonies ! 


* He struck Judge Gascoyne on the bench, who committed him to prison. 

t Charles the Sixth. 

t This has been defended on the principle that the number of prisoners far 
exceeded that of his own army. 

§ Never did the cruelty of man invent, or the crimes of the delinquent draw 
down, more torments than Oldcastle was made to endure : he was hung up 
with a chain by the middle, and by a slow fire, burned, or rather roasted alive ! 

In this reign was held the celebrated Council of Constance, when John Huss, 
and Jerome of Prague, disciples of Wickliffe, suffered at the stake. 



NOTES ON IIENRY THE FIFTH. 


Most praiseworthy was the step which Henry took upon coming 
to the throne. He at once renounced all intercourse with his dissolute 
companions, while those who had freely rebuked his follies were 
received into favour. The first exercise of his power was directed 
against the heresy of Wickliffe. Oldcastle, Baron of Cobham, was 
the most considerable protector of this sect, and was therefore pointed 
out as a proper victim of ecclesiastical severity. After his condem¬ 
nation, Cobham found means to escape from the Tower. Exaspe¬ 
rated by persecution and animated by zeal, he openly appeared in 
arms against the state, thereby adding to the charge of heresy the 
crime of rebellion, and incurring that guilt which left him without 
the hope of clemency. 

Henry meditated a descent upon France, then governed by a 
feeble monarch, subject to frequent fits of insanity, and whose disorder 
was increased by the following accident. At a masquerade given at 
the palace, a group, of which Charles was one, unexpectedly entered 
the saloon, disguised as savages and chained together. Their apparel 
was made of linen, covered with resin, and encrusted over with 
fur. The Duke of Orleans, unintentionally running a lighted torch 
against one of the dancers, the combustible habiliment caught fire; 
the flame was quickly communicated to the rest; and this scene of 
wanton mirth was instantly changed into sorrow and distress. To 
the Duchess of Berri the king owed his preservation, but he was so 
deeply affected with the catastrophe, that his disorder returned with 
redoubled violence, and attacked him periodically to the end of his 
life. It was for the amusement of Charles VI. that playing-cards 
were first invented. 

Nothing can more fully show the wretched state of France at this 
sera, than the conduct of the parties into which it was divided. The 
Duke of Burgundy caused his political enemy, the Duke of Orleans, 
to be assassinated, and afterwards openly avowed, and justified the 
action! 

Henry fixed his residence at Paris, and the magnificence of his 
court far eclipsed that of his humbled rival. On Whitsunday 
(1421) the two Kings and their two Queens, with crowns on their 
heads, dined together in public; Charles indeed receiving apparent 
homage, but Henry commanding with absolute authority. 

By marrying Catherine, daughter of Charles VI. of France, Henry 
acquired the administration of affairs in that kingdom during the life 
of his insane father-in-law, and entertained the hope of becoming his 
heir, and successor. But, dying in the flower of his age, Henry 
left behind him an infant, eight months old, who lost by sloth and 
cowardice all that the father had acquired. 


30 

HENRY THE SIXTH, 

SON OF THE FORMER KINO, 

[A. D. 1422, — Reigned 38 years.] 

WARS OF YORK AND LANCASTER BEGIN. 

France, and Albion’s sea-girt isle. 

On a cradled monarch smile! 

Bedford guides the helm of state, 

In battle, and in council great, 

’Till the Orlean’s Maid appear’d, 

And superstition’s banner rear’d. 

Arm’d cap-a-pie Joan, takes the field, 

With inspiration for her shield! 

In England too, how chang’d the scene ! 

Rul’d by Anjou’s haughty Queen. 

Hark ! what means that horrid din ? 

Feuds of families begin ; 

Civil war the land alarms ; 

Divided houses fly to arms ; 

White , the emblem York displays ; 

Red, fierce Lancaster arrays. 

Look back to yon distracted times, 

Drench’d in slaughter! clad in crimes ! 

Long and loud the battle’s roar, 

Brothers steep’d in brothers’ gore ! 

Warwick*, wasting valour’s treasure, 

Made and unmade Kings at pleasure ! 

Inveterate the conflict burns, 

Hal and Edward rule by turns ! 

* Called the King-maker. 

His two uncles, the Dukes of Bedford and Gloucester, were appointed, during 
his minority, to superintend the management of public affairs, and the edu¬ 
cation of the young prince was intrusted to Cardinal Beaufort. We are told 
that when Henry was a child, he was placed in his mother’s lap to hear the 
speaker of the House of Commons pronounce a fulsome panegyric upon his 
dawning virtues. Princes, it has been observed, learn nothing correctly hut the 
art of horsemanship ; the reason is, the animal is no flatterer ; he will throw a 
prince with as little ceremony as his groom. 

Printing was invented, also etching and engraving on copper.—The College 
of Eton, and King’s College in Cambridge founded. 



NOTES ON HENRY THE SIXTH. 


During this reign, the English were driven from the Continent 
by the intrepidity of a female enthusiast—the Maid of Orleans ; so 
called from her raising the siege of that city. After a number of 
almost incredible exploits, this extraordinary woman was taken pri¬ 
soner, and burnt as a sorceress. The death of the Duke of Bedford 
soon after, and the defection of the Duke of Burgundy, contributed not 
a little to the success of the French ; and the conquerors of Cressy and 
Agincourt were now to endure the miseries of anarchy at home. 

A pretender to the crown appeared in the person of Richard Duke 
of York. Descended from Lionel, Duke of Clarence, one of the sons 
of Edward the Third, he had a prior claim to Henry the reigning king, 
who was descended from John of Gaunt, a younger son of the same 
Edward. Such a claim could not have fallen into more dangerous 
hands. Possessing valour and abilities, and beloved by the people, 
the Duke of York soon formed a powerful combination in his favour. 

Henry’s feeble character began now to unfold itself. Margaret of 
Anjou his queen (daughter of Rene, titular king of Sicily) was a 
woman of daring spirit. She was suspected of being instrumental to 
the murder of the Duke of Gloucester, and her minister, the Earl of 
Suffolk, was considered as an accomplice. After some little time Suf¬ 
folk was impeached, and banished to France, but he was intercepted 
on his passage and put to death. 

Somerset was next called to the management of affairs, but, unable 
to resist the popular fury, he was sent to the Tower, and the Duke 
of York was appointed by the commons, protector of the realm. 
Henry recovering from an indisposition which had long enfeebled the 
few powers he possessed, was prevailed on to annul this appointment, 
and restore Somerset to his former situation. The Duke of York 
resented this change by a direct appeal to arms. Several en¬ 
gagements followed with various success; Margaret being at one time 
victorious, at another in exile. The victory at Wakefield, in which 
the Duke of York was slain, only stimulated to new exertions the 
Earl of Warwick, a nobleman whose magnificence and hospitality 
were unbounded ; who was considered as the most accomplished 
general of the age, and who entertained for the queen the most deep- 
rooted abhorrence. 

The transactions of this period have but little interest to recommend 
them ; crimes are committed on both sides, and scarce a shining cha¬ 
racter, or a virtue, intervenes to animate the narrative. Among the 
events of this reign may be classed the insurrectionary movements of 
Cade, whose life paid the forfeit of his temerity. 


32 


EDWARD THE FOURTH, 

SON OF RICHARD DUKE OF YORK. 

[A. D. 1461 ,—Reigned 22 years.] 


Edward the Fourth, with fearless hand, 

Grasp’d the sceptre of the land. 

And signaliz’d by York’s white rose, 

Wreak’d vengeance on his father’s* foes : 

At length enkindling Warwick’s hate, 

Eclips’d was Edward’s kingly state ! 

And Henry re-assum’d the rein, 

’Till Warwick bled on Barnet's plain. 

Where Avon’s f mingled waters flow, 

Was Henry’s final overthrow; 

Within the dungeon’s darken’d grate, 

Mysterious was the monarch's fate ; 

The Queen, with piercing sorrow rent, 

Heard the foul murder of the tent; 

Heard how the traitor Clarence died, 

And o’er her J fall’n ambition sigh'd ! 

* Richard the father of Edward was killed at the battle of Wakefield, and 
his head, by Queen Margaret’s express command was placed on the walls of 
York, surmounted with a paper crown in derision of his pretended title. 

f Tewksbury Park, where Henry’s forces were commanded by the Duke 
of Somerset. When Edward first attacked the Duke in his intrenchments, 
he met with such a repulse, that the assailants retired with precipitation. So¬ 
merset, supposing them routed, immediately pursued, and ordered Lord Wen- 
lock to support him, while he charged. The order was not obeyed, and the 
forces of Somerset were overpowered by numbers. Reduced to the last extre¬ 
mity by the misconduct of Wenlock, whom lie beheld inactive, in the very place 
where he had first drawn up his men, Somerset in the transport of his rage, ran 
upon the coward with his heavy battle-axe, and killed him on the spot. 

f A considerable ransom was paid for her by the French King. This extra¬ 
ordinary woman, after having sustained the cause of her husband in twelve 
battles; after having survived her friends, fortunes and children, died a prey to 
solitude and dejection. Clarence was put to death for exclaiming against the 
iniquity of his friend Burdet’s sentence, who was executed at Tyburn for some 
intemperate expression about the loss of a favourite deer. 

A tradesman executed for saying he would make his son heir to the crown, 
alluding to the sign of his house. 



NOTES ON EDWARD THE FOURTH. 


The battle of Touton ushered in the reign of Edward, who, 
assisted by Warwick, overthrew the Lancastrians with great 
slaughter. Henry and his queen, took refuge in Scotland ; 
but soon after rallied their forces, only to sustain another 
defeat at Hexham. Margaret, with her infant child, was ex¬ 
posed to the romantic perils of a forest, infested with robbers, 
but at last escaped to France: her husband was discovered 
at an obscure retreat in Lancashire, and imprisoned in the 
tower. 

Edward, wishing to form a matrimonial alliance, fixed his 
eye on Bona of Savoy, sister of the Queen of France. War¬ 
wick was despatched to Paris with proposals, and the treaty 
was concluded. During the negotiation, Edward became en¬ 
amoured of the widow of Sir John Gray, a lady whose per¬ 
sonal attractions secured her immediate elevation to the 
throne. From that hour Warwick became the kino’s decided 

• • O 

enemy. To strengthen his interest, Warwick bestowed the 
hand of his daughter on the Duke of Clarence, (the kings 
brother) and even consented to a reconciliation with Mar¬ 
garet. Intimidated by so formidable a league, Edward with¬ 
drew to Holland, and Henry, released from his imprisonment, 
re-ascended the throne. 

In spite of these reverses of fortune, Edward returned to 
England, and soon found himself in a situation to encounter 
the Earl of Warwick, who had taken post at Barnet. The 
issue of that battle was fatal to Warwick, and only served as 
a prelude to the final and disastrous conflict at Tewksbury, 
where Margaret, and her son, were taken prisoners. The 
young prince was led to the tent of the conqueror, who impe¬ 
riously demanded, “ how he dared to invade England ?” “ I 
came” answered the magnanimous youth “ to revenge my 
“ father’s wrongs, and redress my own.” The unguarded 
prince survived the reply but a few minutes. Margaret was 
conducted to the tower, where her husband had, but a few 
days before, suddenly expired. Clarence though he had 
basely deserted the cause of Margaret, was never favourably 
received by the opposite party. He was brought to trial by 
the intrigues of his brother Glocester, and being found guilty, 
asked permission to be suffocated in a butt of malmsey, 
rather than perish on a scaffold. 

A spirit of gallantry, mixed with cruelty, distinguished this 
reign. A masque, or a murder, were viewed with equal in¬ 
difference, and the king would at once gallant a mistress, and 
inspect an execution! 

D 


34 


EDWARD THE FIFTH, 

ELDEST SON OF THE FORMER KING. 

[A. D. 1483. —Reigned 2 months and 13 days.] 


By midnight machination slain, 

Few the days of Edward’s reign ! 

Children murder’d * in their sleep, 

Leave impressions, lasting, deep! 

Gloucester arraigns in evil hour, 

The blight of witchcraft’s with’ring power ; 
“ Behold,” he cries, “ this palsied arm, 

“ Shrunk by incantation’s charm ! 

“ Tell me, what punishment is due, 

“ To Sorcery’s infernal crew ?” 

The assembled council with one breath, 
Denounc’d aloud “ immediate death /” 

See Hastings to the scaffold led, 

And outcast beauty f beg for bread ! 

Oft does the weeping Muse lament, 

The persecuted penitent; 

—Doom’d in life’s last stage to know. 

The dread abyss of human woe ! 


* From Comines we learn, that the court of France was so much struck with 
horror at Richard’s conduct, that the English ambassador was refused an 
audience. 

t Jane Shore. 

Walpole, the author of “ Historic Doubts,” has raised many strong objec¬ 
tions against the belief of these murders, and the generally received character 
of Richard the Third. 

So peculiarly fatal had been the wars of York and Lancaster to persons of 
rank, that at the first parliament of Edward IV. the nobility of England con¬ 
sisted only of one Duke, four Earls, one Viscount, and twenty-nine Barons. 

Henry's Hist. Brit. 



NOTES ON EDWARD THE FIFTH. 


The former King left two sons, the Prince of Wales, now Edward 
the Fifth, in his thirteenth year, and Richard Duke of York, a few 
years younger. Their uncle, the Duke of Gloucester, was appointed 
Regent during the minority, and to his care the two young Princes 
were consigned, in opposition to the wishes of their mother who had 
an inward foreboding of their fate. 

A man, like Gloucester, who had abandoned all principles of honour 
and humanity, was soon carried by his ambitious views beyond the 
reach of fear or precaution. Earl Rivers, the Queen’s brother, a 
nobleman distinguished tor his loyalty, was thrown into prison, and 
executed without any form of trial. Lord Hastings, for the firmness 
of his attachment, was treated in like manner, while Buckingham 
became the willing instrument of Gloucester’s designs. 

Jane Shore was the next sacrifice to be made, who, though the 
mistress of a Monarch, was respectable for many virtues. Her hu¬ 
manity waited not the temptation of a bribe, or the hope of reciprocal 
benefit. To protect the oppressed, and relieve the indigent, were to 
her the highest source of pleasure. But nothing could save her from 
the bitterness of shame. She pleaded guilty, and the remainder of 
her life was long and wretched. Among the many courtiers she had 
raised to favour, not a single hand extended relief; and she languished 
out her days in solitude and want. 

Richard, no longer made a secret of his design to usurp the crown. 
As a colour to his pretensions, emissaries were employed to raise 
scruples against the legitimacy of the young King. The Citizens of 
London, assembled in Guildhall, were addressed by Buckingham in 
a popular harangue, setting forth the titles and virtues of the Pro¬ 
tector. The conclusion ot the speech was followed by a shout ex¬ 
claiming, “ God save King Richard !’’ With seeming reluctance he 
accepted the crown, and performed all the acts of invested sove¬ 
reignty. 

This ridiculous farce was soon followed by a scene truly diabolical. 
Sir Robert Brakenbury, constable of the Tower, received orders which 
he declined to execute. The Usurper then sent for Sir James Tyrrel, 
to whom the government of the Tower was intrusted for one night. 
Sir James, attended by three associates, entered the apartment where 
the Princes slept. The deed of darkness was perpetrated, and when 
the bodies were shown to Tyrrel, he ordered them to be buried at the 
foot of an unfrequented staircase, where, bones corresponding witn the 
age of the victims, were found in the reign of Charles the Second, 
who caused them to be interred in a marble monument. 

d 2 




36 


RICHARD THE THIRD, surnamed CROOKBACK, 

BROTHER OF EDWARD THE FOURTH. 

[A. D. 1483 .—Reigned 2 Years.] 


Deform’d in body and in mind, 
Richard every vice combin’d. 

Repaying with a deadly hate, 

The friends who gave him sceptred state. 

With anger Buckingham* survey’d, 
Services so ill repaid; 

Neglected,—scorn’d,—to arms he flies ; 
Betray’d, and taken in disguise. 

His life became the sacrifice! 

As murd’rer and usurper known, 
Richard trembles on the throne ; 
Shadowy spectres flitting by, 

Thus portend his destiny ; 

“ Know th’ unerring Fates ordain, 

“ Short shall be thy guilty reign ; 

“ Soon the venom’d battle’s blow, 

“ Shall lay ambition’s fabric low.” 

With Richmond, Stanley’s ranks unite. 
And the wretch falls at Bosworth’s fight, 
The badges of distinction t cease. 

And England hails returning peace! 



* The Duke of Buckingham was the person who set the crown upon 
Richard’s head, and Richard, in return cut off Buckinham’s. Sir William 
Stanley by his timely support, set the crown on Henry’s (VII.) head, and ten 
years after by Henry’s order the baronet was conducted to the block, 
t The ensigns of the red and white rose. 

Richard wanted not bravery, but his crimes had left him with hardly a 
friend whom he could trust. By the defection of Stanley, during the heat of 
battle, Richard was convinced that he had nothing to hope for but a glorious 
death. With this view, he mowed his way to the banner of his competitor ; 
but just as he had caught sight of Henry, the followers of Stanley rushed in 
between ; and the intrepid Richard, disdaining mercy and gallantly fighting to 
his last gasp, sunk to the ground overwhelmed by numbers and expired. The 
stone coffin in which he was buried, served for a horse-trough many years 
after at an obscure inn in Leicester. 



NOTES ON RICHARD THE THIRD. 


Richard endeavoured to gain by favours, those whom he thought 
could give stability to his throne. But Richard’s danger arose from 
a quarter he little expected, namely, from the Duke of Buckingham, 
who did not think himself sufficiently rewarded for his services in 
promoting the usurpation. Richard received intelligence that his 
enemies were plotting to overthrow his government, and that 
Buckingham was at the head of the confederacy. The King lost no 
time to counteract their plans, and the Duke, foiled in his attempt to 
cross the Severn by a most extraordinary inundation, found it neces¬ 
sary to conceal himself in the house of an old servant, who betrayed 
him. Buckingham, as might be expected, fell a sacrifice to that 
power which he himself had raised. 

The Earl of Richmond appeared on the coast of England with a 
body of five thousand men ; but hearing of the fate of Buckingham, 
and the disposition of his friends, he returned to Britanny. Richard, 
thus triumphant, ventured at last to summon a parliament, which 
recognised his authority, and the King passed some popular laws to 
reconcile the nation to his government. 

About this time, his wife dying, Richard proposed to marry the 
Princess Elizabeth : and, strange as it may appear, the Queen dowager 
neither scrupled this alliance, nor felt any horror at the thought of 
marrying her daughter to a man who was avowedly the murderer of 
her children. Richmond, alarmed at the disgusting intelligence, re¬ 
solved on a new invasion. Landing at Milford-haven, the Welch 
flocked to his standard, and all men of probity and honour were anxious 
to prevent the sceptre from being any longer polluted by the hand which 
held it. Among these were Lord Stanley, and his brother Sir William, 
whose support at Bosworth Field, decided the long contest between the 
two houses. The King was slain, and the victorious troops, in a trans¬ 
port of joy, bestowed on their general the appellation of King. In order 
to give some kind of form to this military election, the ornamental 
crown which Richard wore in battle, was placed upon Henry’s head : 
his title was confirmed by parliament, and his marriage with the 
Princess Elizabeth, united the jarring claims which had so long 
desolated the kingdom. 

Thus ended the reign of the Plantagenets, whose family had been 
in possession of the throne for three hundred and thirty years. 


38 


HENRY THE SEVENTH, EARL OF RICHMOND, 

SON OF EDMUND TUDOR, MARRIED El IZABETH, THE ONLY SURVIVING 
DAUGHTER AND REPRESENTATIVE OF EDWARD IV. THEREBY UNITING 

THE FAMILIES OF YORK AND LANCASTER.-THE FATHER OF EDMUND 

TUDOR WAS SIR OWEN TUDOR, WHO MARRIED CATHARINE, WIDOW OF 
HENRY V. 

[A. D. 1485,— Reigned 23 Years.] 

Lancastrian Hal, severely wise, 

Bade industry and commerce rise: 

But say, what foresight can prevent 
The stratagems of discontent ? 

Lambert, whose low-born puny claim. 

Excited ridicule and shame, 

Is afterwards with pity view’d, 

And plac’d in menial servitude. 

Next Warbeck* rose, whose well-marked face. 
Resembled much the royal race, 

Which strong credential brought his cause. 
Friends, adherentsf, and applause: 

The noblest maiden of the land. 

Accepted the impostor’s hand: 

—Time reveal’d the flimsy cheat, 

And Warbeck’s ruin was complete. 

Henry’s predominating vice, 

Was groveling, grasping, avarice! 

Dudley and Empson’s J vile chicane. 

The royal coffers cram’d with gain! 

In climes remote, through seas unknown, 

A spirit of adventure shone; 

Columbus hail’d, with joy sincere, 

The long-sought Western hemisphere ! 


* Supported by the Duchess of Burgundy, who publicly acknowledged him 
for her nephew. 

t Lord Fitzwalter, Sir Simon Mountford, Sir Thomas Thwaites, and many 
others. 

+ These instruments of oppression, executed in the following reign, were both 
lawyers: the first of mean bath and brutal manners: the second was of less 
exceptionable origin ; improved by educat : on: but equally unjust, severe and 
inflexible. Their legal acquirements enabled them to pervert the forms of 
justice, and Henry supported them in their iniquities. By reviving obsolete 
penal statutes, vast confiscations were brought into the exchequer. In his 
latter days, the King did not escape the remorse due to his crimes, and he gave 
orders that restitution should be made to all those whom he had injured. 




NOTES ON HENRY THE SEVENTH. 


Instead of receiving indiscriminately the friends of both fa¬ 
milies, Henry carried to the throne all the partialities which 
belong to the head of a faction. The House of York was still 
endeared to the nation, and therefore became every day more 
and more the object of Henry’s aversion : his amiable consort was 
treated with a coldness bordering on contempt; his government was 
unpopular, and his reign filled with plots and insurrections. 

'Yhejirst rebellion, headed by Lord Lovell, and the two Staffords, 
quickly ended in the ruin of its authors : the second was of a more 
dangerous nature as being interwoven with the public discontent. 

Henry’s jealousy had confined in the Tower, Edward Plantagenet 
Earl of Warwick, son of the Duke of Clarence. A report was spread 
that Warwick had made his escape. A burst of joy diffused itself 
throughout the kingdom, and this was thought a favourable oppor¬ 
tunity for increasing the number of the King’s enemies. Lambert 
Simnel, (a youth of understanding and address above his condition, and 
tutored by one Simon an Oxford priest) seemed well calculated to 
personate a prince of royal extraction. In Ireland, the imposture 
succeeded to a certain extent, but was at last detected, and Simnel 
thought too contemptible for further notice. 

The old Duchess of Burgundy, sister of Edward the Fourth, burning 
with resentment for the studied neglect shewn to her family and friends, 
determined to play off another imposture. She fixed upon Perkin 
Warbeck, the son of a renegado Jew, whose wandering habits of life 
rendered the parentage of the youth difficult to be traced by the most 
diligent inquiry. Youngand of quick apprehensions,Warbeck, was well 
fitted to act any part, or assume any character. The better to pre¬ 
pare him for the enterprise of personating the Duke of York, (who 
was smothered in the Tower) he passed some time at the court of 
Portugal, and had likewise been received with all imaginable respect 
at the court of France. The whole kingdom was full of the accom- 
plishments and adventures, and misfortunes of the young Plantagenet. 
After an unsuccessful residence amongst the Irish, Warbeck bent his 
course to Scotland ; and such was his insinuating manner, and plau¬ 
sible address, that Lady Catherine Gordon, daughter of the Earl of 
Huntly, eminent both for beauty and virtue, consented to become his 
wife. After some little time, Warbeck’s pretensions grew stale 
even in the eyes of the populace, and he was persuaded to deliver 
himself up under a promise of pardon. But while a prisoner in the 
Tower, his habits of restless intrigue still followed him. He entered 
into a conspiracy with Warwick, which did not escape the King’s 
vigilance. Both the impostor and his accomplice were brought to 
trial, and executed. 

The Cape of Good Hope, the island of Madagascar, Florida, Jamaica, 
Porto Rico, Trinidad, and Newfoundland enriched the progress of maritime 
discovery. Maps and sea*charts brought to England. 


40 


HENRY THE EIGHTH, 

SON OF HENRY THE SEVENTH, 

[A. D. I . 509 .— Reigned 37 Years.] 


Hal, bold in measure, bold in crime ! 

The dread, the wonder, of his time ! 

Marriage, murder, and divorce, 

Mark the changeling monarch's course; 

In the same unfeeling breath 
A mistress woo’d, or put to death ; 

Arragon, Boleyn, Seymour, Cleves, 

Kates, Howard, Parr*, the wretch deceives! 

Wolsey wou’d climb the papal chair, 

’Tho’ monasteries dissolve in air; 

’Tho’ Henry braves the Pontiff’s ban, 

Loud thund’ring from the Vatican! 

X 

Now Faith's Defender f fearless rose. 

All religions to oppose ; 

Creeds were unavailing names, 

To save their followers from flames ! 

Wolsey, stript of pride and power J, 

Exclaim’d in life’s departing hour, 

“ Had I serv’d God with half the zeal, 

“ I’ve served an earthly monarch’s weal, 

“ He wou’d not, at life’s awful close, 

“ Have left me naked to my foes !” 

* Names of his wives as they followed each other. After living eighteeu 
years with his first wife Catharine, widow of his brother Arthur, he procured a 
divorce. Anne Boleyn, beheaded. Jane Seymour, died in rhildbed. Anne 
of Cleves, divorced. Catharine Howard, beheaded. Catharine Parr survived 
her husband, and soon after married Lord Seymour. 

t Title conferred by the Pope for Henry’s tract against Luther. 

$ When Wolsey was deprived of the seals, they were given to Sir Thomas 
More, who was the most inconsistent of men. Though fond of domestic habits 
he could drive his wife to elope by his imprudent sarcasms; and, though said 
to be humane by nature, he could enjoy the agonies of a heretic writhing under 
the torture of the scourge. He was condemned to die for refusing to take the 
oaths of supremacy and succession, and it was this verdict which drew on Henry 
the vengeance of papal excommunication. 

When More was brought to the place of execution, he jested on the tot¬ 
tering and ill-constructed state of the scaffold; and when about to lay his 
head upon the block, he made his beard the subject of merriment. 



NOTES ON HENRY THE EIGHTH. 


Agitated by contrary passions, and often falling from one ex¬ 
treme to another, Henry’s vacillating conduct left his subjects in a 
state of uncertainty what to believe or what to reject. At one time, 
the King writes against Luther, and obtains from his Holiness the 
distinguished title ol “ Defender of the faith ;” at another time, he 
renounces the authority of the papal see, and commands his subjects 
to acknowledge no supremacy but his own. Inconstant in his affec¬ 
tions, and overbearing in his family, the domestic tyrant spread 
terror through every apartment of his palace. So greatly was 
his vindictive temper feared, that the Duke of Buckingham was 
the only man in the Kingdom who had resolution enough to com¬ 
plain. Wolsey instantly had him accused of treason; and this high- 
spirited nobleman was condemned and executed. When it was told 
to the Emperor Charles the Fifth, he exclaimed, in allusion to the 
meanness of Wolsey’s birth, “ that a butcher's dog had worried to 
“ death the finest buck in Christendom.” 

France, which had long been the grave of the English, was now to 
become a scene of absurd and enormous extravagance. Henry 
met the French King (Francis the First) near Calais. The expense of 
the interview may be conceived from the name given the field where 
this august ceremony took place; it was called “ The field of the cloth 
of gold !” 

After having been long married to Catherine of Arragon, Henry 
was smitten with the charms of Anne Boleyn, and demanded 
a divorce. The Pope wished to get rid of the question ; Wolsey was 
equally embarrassed, and at length sunk under the weight of the 
King’s displeasure. The fall of Wolsey paved the way for his secre¬ 
tary Cromwell; who, after assisting the King in the demolition of 
religious houses, and enjoying his unlimited confidence, fell a sacri¬ 
fice to the wayward temper of his capricious master. 

In the early part of this reign was fought the celebrated battle of 
Spurs, so called from the French trusting more to the speed of their 
horses, than the use of their swords. During Henry’s absence on the 
continent, the Earl of Surrey defeated the Scots at Flodden-fieid. 

Henry had been married to six wives. The last (Catherine Parr) 
was about to be committed to the Tower as a heretic, when the King 
died. The Duke of Norfolk escaped by the same incident, or would 
have shared the fate of his son, the Earl of Surrey. 

It would be injustice to deprive Wolsey of the elegant encomium 
bestowed on him by Erasmus : “ Polite learning he upheld by his 
“ favour, defended by his authority, adorned by his splendour, and 
“ cherished by his kindness.” 

In Henry’s last illness, Sir Anthony Denny was the only person 
who had the courage to warn him of his approaching end. Cranmer 
was sent for, but finding the King speechless, he begged his master 
to give some sign of his dying in the faith of Christ. He squeezed 
the Prelate’s hand, and expired. 


42 


EDWARD THE SIXTH, 

SON OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, BY LADY JANE SEYMOUR, 

[A. D. 1547 .—Reigned 6 Years.] 


Hail, Edward! last of Edward’s name ! 

The idol of admiring fame ! 

Born to grace the sceptred throne. 

Science* claim’d him for her own ; 

But like the verdure’s early blade, 

Young Edward blossom’d but to fade. 

When virulence and factious strife, 

Lost Somersetf his valued life, 

Northumberland, with lordly hand, 

Control’d the council of the land, 

And by a policy refin’d, 

Moulded the monarch to his mind. 

Ill-fated, unassuming Jane, 

Reluctantly consents to reign; 

—Short was her ephemeral pow’r. 

The glittering phantom of an hour ! 

* At ten years of age he had made considerable progress in Latin, French, 
Spanish, and Italian. 

t Among other charges brought against him it was alleged, that to furnish 
ground and materials for the structure of his magnificent palace in the Strand, 
the church of Saint Mary, and three bishops houses had been demolished. 

Though Somerset escaped for this time, he was afterwards tried upon charges 
of insurrection, to which he pleaded “ not guilty,” but confessed he had laid 
a project for murdering the Earls of Northumberland, Northampton, and 
Pembroke, at a banquet which was to be given them by Lord Paget. His 
behaviour on the scaffold was dignified and composed; and perceiving a tumult 
about to take place, in his favour, he desired the spectators to be quiet and 
mot interrupt his last meditations. 



NOTES ON EDWARD THE SIXTH. 


During the minority of Edward, the title of Protector was con- 
terred on Seymour Duke ot Somerset, the King’s maternal uncle. 

Seymour’s first care, aided by the advice of Cranmer (to whom we 
are indebted for the first translation of the Bible) was to advance the 
Reformation, of which the outline only had been drawn. T he change 
was productive of alarm and disturbance throughout twelve different 
counties, and it was upon this occasion that Lords lieutenants were 
first appointed. Notwithstanding the disordered state of affairs, the 
Protector resolved upon a war with Scotland, for having violated at 
engagement to bestow on Edward the hand of their Queen. It was 
on this occasion, the Earl of Huntly said to Somerset “ that he did 
not dislike the match, but hated the manner of wooing.” The battle 
of Musselburgh followed, in which the English were victorious. After 
this defeat, the Scotch rallied, and, assisted by Henry the second, King 
of France, retook the fortified places, advanced as far as Newcastle, 
and in spite of the Protector, carried off great plunder. Among those 
who acted in opposition to Seymour’s authority were his brother (who 
had married the dowager Queen, Catherine Parr) and Dudley, Earl 
of Warwick. The former died on a scaffold, and the latter succeeded 
in bringing the Protector to the block. 

Warwick (afterwards created Earl of Northumberland) was now 
appointed to the regency. His first object was to make peace with 
France ; and Scotland was included in the treaty. So entirely did 
the young King resign himself up to the direction of the new Protector 
(Northumberland) that he suffered himself to be prevailed on to disin¬ 
herit his own sisters, (Mary and Elizabeth) and bequeath the crown to 
Lady Jane Grey, wife of Guildford Dudley, the Duke of Northum¬ 
berland’s fourth son. 

Edward is commemorated as the founder of some of the most 
splendid charities* in the metropolis. In this reign, two witnessess 
were made necessary to the attainder of condemnation or persons ac¬ 
cused of treason. 

Notwithstanding the encomiums bestowed on Edward’s character, 
Smollet asks, “ How can we reconcile, either to his boasted humanity 
“ or penetration, his consenting to the death of his uncle who had 
“ served him faithfully ; unless we suppose he wanted resolution to 
“ withstand the importunities of his ministers, and was deficient in 
“ that vigour of mind, which often exists independent of learning 
“ and culture ?” 

Edward kept a journal, which is preserved in the British Museum, 
and in which he regularly entered all the important transactions of 
his reign. 

V 

f Christ’s Hospital, St. Thomas’s, and Bridewell. 

Private masses abolished ; Images removed from churches j The liturgy 
corrected, and the present form of prayer established. 


44 


MARY, 

DAUGHTER OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, BY CATHARINE OF ARRAGON, 

[A. D. 1553 .—Reigned 5 Years.] 


Lo ! bigotry’s obnoxious brood, 

Bane of all that’s great and good! 

Whence didst thou come ? who gave thee birth ! 
What Demon wafted thee to earth ? 

Of human crimes enroll'd, the worst; 

Thou stand’st superlatively curst!!! 

Mary, with vindictive joy, 

Seiz’d the first moment to destroy : 

—Surrounded by the flaming pile. 

Resign’d, the mitred martyrs smile ; 

And Cranmer, with extended hand, 

Defies the torture of the brand ! 

Remorse, disquiet, and chagrin, 

Impale, by turns, the bigot queen ; 

In pompous misery and state. 

Insulted by a husband’s hate, 

A settled sorrow clos’d her days. 

And Smithfield-horrors ceas’d to blaze! 


At the head of these persecuting measures were Gardiner, Bishop of Win* 
Chester, and Bonner, Bishop of London. Five bishops, twenty-one clergymen, 
and above eight hundred others, suffered at the stake. Many died in prison, 
where every engine of torture was resorted to. Threats made hypocrites, and 
punishments made martyrs! 

The active spirit of Northumberland, in behalf of Lady Jane Grey, was en¬ 
couraged by the solemn assurance of the Privy Council that they would sup¬ 
port him to the last extremity ; yet, no sooner was Mary proclaimed Queen, 
than the very same members of the Council were base enough to sit upon him 
as Judges, and condemn him to die for a treason which they themselves had 
commissioned him to act! 



! 


NOTES ON MARY. 


By the intrigues of Northumberland, the crown devolved to Lady 
Jane Grey ; a woman of superior accomplishments, and who accepted, 
with reluctance, the important trust, so disastrous to herself, as well 
as to the author of the project. 

Mary was no sooner established on the throne, than she condemned 
her rival to death ; and though Lady Jane made a voluntary resig¬ 
nation of her fatal dignity, which she held but nine days, yet she was 
conducted to execution ; and, on the way, met the officers of th« 
Tower, bearing the headless body of her husband, streaming with 
blood : she looked on the corpse without trembling, and, only with 
a sigh, desired to proceed. Her father, (the Duke of Suffolk) and 
her father-in-law (the Earl of Northumberland) were made the next 
victims of royal vengeance. 

Mary, after signing a contract of marriage with Philip, (son of 
Charles the Fifth, Emperor and King of Spain) restored the supre¬ 
macy of the Pope ; and in the next parliament, the whole nation, by 
their representatives, received absolution from the hands of Cardinal 
Pole. 

It were endless to enumerate all the cruelties practised during this 
reign. Among the deposed Bishops, were Hooper, Ferrer, Cranmer, 
Ridley, and Latimer, who afterwards suffered at the stake. Barbarity 
on one hand, and patient constancy on the other, have so near a 
resemblance in cases of martyrdom, that a detailed narration would 
only become tedious by its uniformity. 

The Queen, at the instigation of her husband Philip, engaged in a 
war with France. The victory of Saint Quintin followed. The loss 
sustained by the French in this battle was soon retrieved by the vigilant 
activity of the Duke of Guise, who undertook, in the depth of winter, 
th# reduction of Calais, and succeeded in an enterprise that gained 
him the admiration of Europe. This event, added to the cold dis¬ 
dain of an insulting husband, and other concurrent causes, soon ter¬ 
minated Mary’s short and inglorious reign. “ When I am dead/' 
said she to her attendants, “ you will find Calais written on my 
heart." 

Mary entertained so great a jealousy and hatred of Elizabeth, that 
upon the suppression of Wyat’s rebellion, she committed Elizabeth 
to the Tower, with the hope of discovering something which might 
involve her sister in the guilt of that conspiracy. 


46 

ELIZABETH, 

DAUGHTER OF HENRY THE EIGHTH, BY ANNE BOLEYN, 

[A. D. 1558 .—Reigned 44 Years.] 


Elizabeth, of lofty mien, 

Long rul’d the land, a favour’d Queen ; 

Qualified alike to wield, 

The sword, the sceptre, and the shield. 

When the Armada launch’d from Spain, 
Resplendent shone Eliza’s reign! 

Howard and Drake, their country’s boast, 

Repel invasion from the coast; 

—What tho’ from Tyrone Essex fled, 

Victory smil’d when Mountjoy led! 

But, among deeds of high renown. 

She dimm’d the lustre of her crown: 

A rival Princess, north of Tweed, 

Her jealous rancour doom’d to bleed, 

Furnish’d with the fatal plea, 

Of Babington’s conspiracy: 

—E^en on the traitor, Essex, wait, l 
Dissembled love, capricious hate; ^ 

The ring secreted seal’d his fate. J 

When Nottingham the truth contest, 

What anguish wrung the royal breast! 

O’erwhelm’d with bitterness of grief, 

Death brought the wretched Queen relief. 

Shakspeare ; Spencer, who wrote the Fairy Queen, and Sir Philip Sydney 
flourished.—East India and Turkey Companies established. 

Among the nobility, who took an interest in Mary Queen of Scots, was the 
Duke of Norfolk. With the hope of rising to the British throne, he privately 
made overtures of marriage: the negotiation was carried on for some time 
with the utmost secrecy, till several love-letters of the Duke w ere intercepted, 
and fell into the hands of Elizabeth. Norfolk now formed a party in London, 
had a promise of assistance from the Pope, and also from the cabinet of Madrid. 
When buoyed up with expectation of success, his plots were discovered, and 
he perished on a scaffold. 

The sentence of death passed on the unfortunate Mary, was severely repro¬ 
bated by Leicester, Elizabeth’s favourite adviser; upon which the Queen asked 
him, “What she should do?” “Send an apothecary, madam, (replied Leicester) 
“ and not a hangman ; if she must die, let it be done with decency.” 

Dudley, her chief minister (afterwards Earl of Leicester) was regarded by 
the Queen from capricious motives. The two favourites next in power were 
Bacon, and Cecil Lord Burleigh, men of great capacity. Cecil and Leicester 
fortunately declined an invitation to Paris, or they would have been cut off in 
the massacre of Saint Bartholomew. 



NOTES ON ELIZABETH. 


Elizabeth succeeded to rule over a people, whose passions had 
been inflamed, and whose principles had been corrupted, by the 
trequent changes in religion, and the rivalry of contending parties, 
through three preceding reigns. The leading characteristics of Eliza¬ 
beth’s administration were economy and vigour. Guided by an en¬ 
lightened policy, she awed Scotland into submission, quelled a dan¬ 
gerous rebellion in Ireland, repelled a most tremendous invasion, 
made distant conquests, planted remote colonies, laid the foundation 
of a maritime power, and established that system of commercial in¬ 
tercourse, which has since penetrated into almost every province of 
the civilized world. 

A tenderness for her people, a confidence in their affections, and 
a vigilant concern for the honour and interest of the nation, gave life 
and colour to Elizabeth’s public conduct; and if a few equivocal marks 
of coquetry appeared on some occasions, they passed like flashes of 
lightning;—vanished as soon as they were discerned, and imprinted no 
blot on her character. She had private friendships , site had favour¬ 
ites ; but she never suffered her friends to forget she was their Queen ; 
and when her favourites approached to familiarity, the rebuking 
glance convinced them of their mistake. 

Her treatment of Mary Queen of Scots, has fixed an indelible stain 
upon her memory. Mary, upon the death of her husband, the King 
of France, returned to Scotland; and after remaining a widow three 
years, bestowed her hand on Lord Darnley; a man of great personal 
accomplishments, but of ungovernable temper, and addicted to gross 
and licentious habits. Mary soon repented of the choice she had 
made, and the dark and suspicious mind of Darnley ascribed the 
change in her behaviour to the influence of a new passion. Rizzio, a 
musician, who shared the Queen’s confidence, was selected as the 
object of his jealousy and revenge. The murder of the favourite 
followed,—partly executed in the presence of the Queen, at that time 
in a state of advanced pregnancy. This insult on her person, and 
the danger to which her life was exposed, while Rizzio clung to her 
for protection, were injuries too complicated to admit of pardon. 
Mary’s resentment against her husband was implacable. Assisted by 
the Earl of Bothwell, a new favourite , the house in which Darnley 
slept, called the Kirk of Field, was blown up, and his body found in 
a neighbouring enclosure. The subsequent conduct of the Queen, 
who afterwards married Bothwell, affords a strong presumption of 
their mutual guilt. Bothwell ended his days in a dungeon on the 
coast of Norway; and Mary, after an imprisonment of 18 years, suf¬ 
fered at Fotheringay Castle for encouraging the conspiracy of Ba- 
bington. Elizabeth played the hypocrite so far as to accuse Davison, 
her secretary, of having acted without her orders; and when told of 
Mary’s execution, she gave way to the most frantic grief and asto¬ 
nishment. 


48 


JAMES I. OF ENGLAND, SIXTH OF SCOTLAND, 

SON OP MARY STUART, BY LORD DARNLEY, MARRIED ANN, DAUGHTER 
OF FREDERIC, KING OF DENMARK, BY SOPHIA OF MECKLENBURGH. 

[A. D. 1603. —Reigned 22 Years.] 


From barren soil, and mountains bleak. 

Came Stuart James*,—conceited,—weak; 
Beneath the axe see Raleigh j' die, 

And Y erulam f in penury ! 

Each left behind a deathless name, 

Dear to learning,—dear to fame ! 

To flattery, and fav’rites J prone. 

Truth seldom reach’d the monarch’s throne ; 

Day after day, he pass’d his time, 

e Mid§ witchcraft, priestcraft, puns and rhyme. 

The warning voice, which friendship gave. 
Rescued from explosion’s || grave. 

The solemn council of the state. 

Assembling to deliberate! 

James, did his daughter’s hand resign, 

To th’ Elector PalatinelT; 

Direct from that alliance came. 

The origin of Brunswick’s claim. 

* The learned Buchanan was his tutor. 

f Sir Walter Raleigh, and Lord Bacon. 

X Villiers, afterwards Duke of Buckingham, and Carr, afterwards Viscount 
Rochester, and Earl of Somerset. 

$ James wrote Dcemonologia , and also A Counterblast to Tobacco , in de¬ 
rision of Sir Walter Raleigh, who introduced the smoking of that weed into 
England. James wrote many other tracts equally contemptible.— Vide Cata¬ 
logue of Royal Authors. 

|| Sir Henry Piercy sent a mysterious letter to Lord Monteagle, which 
was shewn to the King. The latter discovered its meaning. Thirty-six bar¬ 
rels of gunpowder were found deposited in a cellar, and the conspirators were 
arrested. 

IF Through the indecision and folly of James, the elector Palatine, (his son- 
in-law) was deprived of all his dominions, including Bohemia. The fruit of 
this marriage was a daughter (Sophia) who gave birth to George the First. 

Baronets first created in England. 



NOTES ON JAMES THE FIRST. 


Instead of taking the Queen, whom he succeeded, for a model, 
James shewed the most marked contempt for her memory, her mi¬ 
nisters, and her maxims. He neither wore the dress of mourning for 
her himself, nor permitted it in others. The titles and honours, of 
which his predecessor had been so judiciously sparing, were lavished 
by James with indiscriminate profusion. Soon after his accession, 
Sir Walter Raleigh was accused of a conspiracy to dethrone him ; 
and this illustrious character, upon vague testimony, was condemned 
to die, and the sentence was embittered by the forfeiture of his estate. 
After having been detained a prisoner in the Tower twelve years, 
Raleigh was sent upon a fruitless expedition to South America, and, 
upon his return, was executed pursuant to his original sentence. 

None of the King’s minions contributed more to discredit him than 
Robert Carr, afterwards Viscount Rochester, and Earl of Somerset. 
Carr was detected i/i a criminal correspondence with the Countess of 
Essex. A divorce followed, and the lovers were married. Carr’s 
friend (Sir Thomas Overbury), having strongly dissuaded him from 
this connexion, the vengeful and abandoned Countess, with the aid 
of her paramour, caused him to be poisoned. The deed was disco¬ 
vered, and several of the agents suffered death ; but Carr and his 
Countess, although convicted upon the clearest evidence, were 
granted a life which became their punishment: their love turned 
to the most inveterate hatred; they lived in the same house without 
seeing each other, and the Countess died of a disease, for which no 
remedy or name could be found. 

The place which Somerset held in the King’s favour was filled 
soon after by George Villiers, who rapidly advanced, through a 
course of honours, to the Dukedom of Buckingham. During the 
remainder of this reign and the Buckingham continued to pos¬ 

sess unrivalled influence, till assassinated by Felton. When Prince 
Charles, afterwards Charles the First, was sent upon a romantic ex¬ 
pedition into Spain, to negotiate a marriage with the Intanta, the 
new favourite attended him. The match was abruptly broken oft, 
because Buckingham, having fallen in love with the Duchess of Oli¬ 
varez, took the opportunity of insulting the Duke her husband, who 
was prime minister. Charles afterwards married Henrietta of France, 
daughter of Henry the Fourth. 

James endeavoured, but in vain, to establish episcopacy in Scot 
land. The same opposition was manifested by the Irish, who were 
forced from their altars, stript of their possessions, and harassed by 
penal laws for not violating the dictates of their conscience. 

James’s character with posterity is that of a solemn trifler, and a 
kind of ridicule is attached to his very name. 

E 



50 


CHARLES THE FIRST, 

SON OF JAMES THE FIRST, MARRIED HENRIETTA MARIA, DAUGHTER 
OF HENRY THE FOURTH, KING OF FRANCE. 

[A. D. 1625 .—Reigned 23 t/ears.] 


Charles cherish’d from his earliest day, 
Fond notions of despotic sway ; 

Trying by sad experiment. 

To rule without a parliament; 

But when the needy monarch tries, 

By novel means to raise supplies * * * § , 

Hampden scorn’d the high behest, 

And wild rebellion rear’d her crest; 

—From M arst on-mo or f, to Naseby’sJ plain, 
Unbroken was disaster’s chain! 

When panic-struck, and in disguise, 

The fugitive from Oxford flies; 

—When faint with toil, a prey to grief, 

From Newark’s § foe he sought relief; 

Each tow ring bastion seem’d to say, 

“ Encamped around is treachery! 

“ Who trusts his cause to rebel clans, 

“ Erects an edifice on sands!” 

—Charles did the warning voice despise, 

And on the fatal scallbld dies. 


* Buckingham advised these odious measures, who was afterwards stabbed 
by Felton. 

t Marston-moor near York. 

f Naseby, a village near Northampton. Here, Cromwell was second in 
command under General Fairfax, but took the lead in all essential points of 
influence. 

§ Newark situated on the river Trent, Nottinghamshire; it was here the 
unfortunate Citarles, put himself into the hands of the Scotch, army, (at that 
time closely besieging the town) and by whom he was sold, and given up to 
his worst enemies. 



NOTES ON CHARLES THE FIRST. 


No alterations took place, when Charles came to the throne. The 
same council, the same favourite, and the same ministers were con¬ 
tinued. Upon his accession he found an empty treasury, and the 
nation involved in a war with Spain. He summoned a parliament 
which loudly expressed its dissatisfaction. Charles dissolved that 
assembly ; issued privy seals, and made forced loans. But all these 
expedients did not relieve him from difficulties. Another parliament, 
was called, which, while it granted a meagre supply of money, pre¬ 
sented a frightful catalogue of grievances. Next followed the im¬ 
peachment of Villiers Duke of Buckingham, and the King was im¬ 
prudent enough to commit the two managers of the impeachment to 
prison. A new parliament succeeded, but before they voted a supply, 
they presented a petition of right, which, on the part of the King, 
was assented to, and violated, almost at the same instant. The acts 
of the star-chamber, rigorously enforced, only added to the popularity 
of those who suffered by such extortion. The militia were called 
out to overawe the people, and keep them in subjection. 

To procure money, the chartered companies were suffered to buy 
letters patent, enabling them to monopolize certain trades. The 
duties of tonnage and poundage were increased, and new impositions 
were laid on commerce. From the authority of the searching officer, 
no warehouse, vault, or desk, was exempt. The star-chamber en¬ 
croached on the jurisdiction of other courts, and inflicted punishments 
beyond the usual course of justice. The tax of ship-money resisted 
by Hampden, and the threatened arrest of five members of the House 
of Commons, betrayed the King into measures, offensive to his sub¬ 
jects and fatal to himself. Scotland and Ireland were in a state of 
rebellion, and the impeachment of Stafford and Laud, who fell the 
victims of public hate, only served to lessen the declining power of 
royalty. After a long struggle, Charles became a prisoner, was tried 
for high treason, condemned, and executed. 

Charles had considerable talents, but he shone more in suffering 
than in acting ; and learnt too late, that the high maxims of prero¬ 
gative, in which he had been educated, could not practically be main¬ 
tained. Concession was necessary, but when did power concede 
willingly ? 

e 2 




52 

CROMWELL. 

[Interregnum from 1649 to 1660.] 


The regicides at once decreed, 

That Cromwell should the army lead; 
Instantly he sallied forth, 

Crush’d Ireland,. subdued the North; 
On Severn’s banks he won the day, 

And monarchy in ruins lay : 

Blake with his thunder swept the main, 
Chastis’d the Dutch, and humbled Spain ; 
Monk, with equal gallantry, 

Led on his troops to victory! 

’Tho’ Penn and Venables deplore, 
Miscarriage on Domingo’s shore, 

Yet Fortune, with capacious smile, 

Gave them Jamaica’s wealthy isle. 

Cromwell, with success elate, 

Assum’d authoritative state; 

On visionary measures bent, 

Dissolv’d the sitting parliament, 

And from the refuse of mankind, 

Form’d a senate to his mind. 

Unawed by Cromwell’s dread career, 
Proud proofs of loyalty appear; 

The blood of Derby*, and Montroset, 
For their suffering monarch flows. 

At length, dejection, terror, care, 

Bade Cromwell for his end prepare ; 

No covert-mask his faults can hide, 

A hypocrite he liv’d and died! 


* The Earl of Derby was written to by Cromwell, making advantageous 
offers provided hislordship would deliver up the Isle of Man. The Earl returned 
a spirited and laconic reply, of which the following is an extract; “ I received 
your letter with indignation, and with scorn I return you this answer. From 
the principle of loyalty I am no way departed; I disdain your favours, I abhor 
your treasons, and I will keep this island to the utmost of my power to your 
destruction. Take this final answer, and forbear any farther solicitations; 
for if you trouble me with any more messages, I will burn the paper and hang 
the bearer.—D erby. 

t The sentence passed on the Earl of Montrose, was, that after execution, 
his head should be cut off, and stuck upon the walls of the prison, and his legs 
and arms distributed among the four chief towns of the kingdom. This noble¬ 
man exclaimed, with heroic and undaunted spirit, “ I would rather have my 
head nailed to a gibbet, than have my portrait hang in the chamber of a 
villain. As to the disposal of my legs and arms, I wish I had limbs enough 
to be dispersed into all the cities of Christendom, there to remain as testi¬ 
monies in favour of the cause for which I suffer.” 





NOTES ON CROMWELL. 


In civil contests, when an appeal is made to the sword, martial 
talents lay the foundation of pre-eminence. To these alone, Crom¬ 
well was indebted for his elevation.Having raised a body of a thousand 
horse, he soon made his regiment the best in the parliament service ; 
and, at the outset of his career, instead of indulging low fanatical 
views, he displayed a master-mind, capable of applying to the best 
advantage the instruments and principles with which he was to act. 
In the army, commanded by the Duke of Manchester, he was made 
Lieutenant-general of the Horse; and at the battle of Marston Moor 
(which gave the first severe blow to the royal party) it is allowed that 
Cromwell’s cavalry turned the fortune of the day. In the self-denying 
ordinance which professed to exclude the members of either house 
from holding commands in the army, Cromwell contrived to exempt 
himself. At the battle of Naseby, when Ireton’s left wing had been 
beaten by Prince Rupeit, Cromwell, by a timely charge secured 
the victory. 

The next scene of Cromwell’s exploits was Ireland, and so decisive 
were his campaigns against the Marquis of Ormond, that the towns 
of Drogheda and Wexford quickly surrendered, and were punished 
with almost unexampled severity for their resistance. 

When the republican arms were to be directed against Scotland, 
Fairfax, a rigid Presbyterian, declined the command, and Cromwell 
reaped the benefit of his refusal. The battle of Dunbar followed, 
terminating in a total defeat of the Scots. Charles, who was strongly 
encamped at Stirling, now took the bold resolution of trying his 
fortune in England. Cromwell pursued the royal army, but they 
had reached Worcester before he overtook them. Here he obtained 
what was termed his crowning victory, and the King’s forces were 
nearly annihilated. 

On his return to London, Cromwell was received with the pomp 
of a conqueror, and soon after, with a vulgar mixture of rudeness 
and cant, he dissolved the Long Parliament , and summoned another 
by warrants under his own hand, consisting of 142 persons, and 
which, from the name of one of their members, was contemptuously 
styled the Barebone’s Parliament. Aware that he was detested by 
every party in the kingdom, Cromwell was incessantly haunted by the 
terrors of assassination. To increase his calamity, a book was pub¬ 
lished, entitled “ Killing no Murder.” The spirited pamphlet fell 
into his hands, and Cromwell was never seen to smile afterwards. 

In the compass of one year, no less than seven naval engagements 
distinguished the Protector’s fleets. Almost every court in Europe 
sent to him their ambassadors, and solicited his friendship. Cardinal 
Mazarin, the favourite minister of Louis XIV., paid Cromwell par¬ 
ticular deference ; and the Jews sent a deputation to know whether 
he was not the Messiah ! 


5F 


RICHARD CROMWELL, 

SON OF OLIVER CROMWELL. 

[A. D. 1658.] 


Richard’s accession to power was followed by every ap¬ 
parent testimony of attachment and affection. Lieutenant- 
general Fleetwood, in the name of the officers of the army 
of England ; Monk, for those of Scotland ; Sir Charles Coote, 
for Ireland, and Lockhart, for the garrison of Dunkirk,—all 
presented their congratulations, and vows of fidelity. The 
same pledge was given in behalf of the navy. The citizens of 
London followed the example. Foreign princes, and states 
were equally anxious to secure his alliance. The French am¬ 
bassador presented him with two letters; one from the mo¬ 
narch, written by himself, the other from his eminency Cardi¬ 
nal Mazarin;—the contents of both, breathed the warmest 
assurance of devotion and support. Richard’s first act was 
to refuse a petition from the army, desiring leave to elect 
its own generals. 

A meeting was held at Wallingford-house; the result of 
their deliberation was, to this effect, namely, that the com¬ 
mand of the army should be intrusted to some person in 
whom they might all conjide; and it was plainly hinted, that 
the young Protector ivas not that person. His resignation fol¬ 
lowed : the old parliament called the Rump, which had be¬ 
headed the King, (and which Cromwell had treated so unce¬ 
remoniously) was reinstated by the army ; and its first object 
was to lessen that very power by which it had been replaced, 
enacting, that there should be no council of war held during 
its sitting. 

While these transactions were going on, Monk was at the 
head of eight thousand veterans in Scotland. He put his 
army in motion, and by forced marches reached St. Alban’s. 
H\s intention of restoring the King, was a secret he never 
once suffered to transpire. When the new parliament as¬ 
sembled, Monk sounded the disposition of many of its mem¬ 
bers, and at length sent them a message, that Sir John Gran¬ 
ville was in waiting to deliver a letter from His Majesty to 
the Commons. 

Nothing could exceed the joy and transport with which 
this message was received. Granville was called in, and the 
letter eagerly read. A moment’s pause was scarcely allowed. 
The King’s proposals were adopted, without a dissentient 



RICHARD CROMWELL. 


voice ; his subjects fondly anticipating a legitimate monarchy, 
which, like a phcenix, would appear more beautiful and vigo¬ 
rous from the ruins of its former conflagration. 

When ordered to quit the palace of Whitehall, Richard 
Cromwell gave his servants strict orders to be very careful 
of two old moth-eaten trunks : a friend ventured to ask the 
reason of this particular solicitude ;—he replied, “ they con¬ 
tain no less than the lives and fortunes of all the good 
people of England in other words, they were filled with ad¬ 
dresses from every part of the kingdom ;—the signatures to 
which, promised to support him at the expense of all that 
was near and dear to them! 

On his dismission from the Protectorate, and after receiving 
an assurance that his debts should be paid, Richard withdrew 7 
to Geneva. Passing through Languedoc, he remained a 
short time at Pezenas, and, under a borrowed name, was in¬ 
troduced to the Prince of Conti. The conversation turning 
on the rapid changes which had taken place in the English 
government, the prince expressed his admiration of Oliver’s 
courage and capacity ;—“ but as for that poor pitiful feliow 
Richard,” said he, “ what has become of him? How could 
he be such a blockhead as to reap no greater benefit from all 
his father’s crimes and successes ?” The anecdote is related 
by Hume, who adds, that Richard extended his peaceful and 
quiet life to an extreme old age, and died not till the latter 
end of Queen Anne’s reign. His social virtues, met with a 
recompense more precious and suitable than noisy fame, 
namely,—contentment and tranquillity. 

In the decline of life, being engaged in a law-suit through 
the unnatural conduct of his own daughters, it w T as neces¬ 
sary that he should personally appear in one of the courts 
of Westminster-hall, where he was treated by the presiding 
judge, Lord Cowper, with particular marks of respect. 
As Richard was returning from this trial, curiosity led him 
to see the house of Peers, when being asked by a person to 
whom he was a stranger, u if he had ever seen any thing 
like it before,” he replied, pointing to the throne, “ Never 
since I sat in that chair”! 

About this time, George Fox, a shoemaker at Nottingham, founded the sect 
of Quakers.—Sir John Denham, author of Cooper’s Hill;— Harrington, cele¬ 
brated for his political romance of Oceana; Harvey, who discovered the cir¬ 
culation of the blood ; Clarendon, admired as an historian; and Selden, whom 
Grotius called the glory of England, were among the distinguished ornaments 
of this age. 


56 

CHARLES THE SECOND, 

SON OF CHARLES THE FIRST. 

[Crowned April 23, 1660. — Reigned 25 gears.] 

Twelve years did Charles an exile roam 
Destitute, without a home, 

Till Monk the monarch’s part espous’d, 

And to his claim the nation rous’d. 

Charles, when restor’d, but ill-repaid, 

The efforts in his favour made ; 

Not flames nor pestilence con’d bring, 

Reflection to the thoughtless King ! 

Tho’ Breda’s treaty,—Dunkirk’s sale. 

Furnish’d a disgraceful tale ; 

Tho’ hostile ships, with lordly pride, 

Plough’d the Medway’s buoyant tide, 

Still tipsy Joy, and frolic Sport, 

Carous’d, and revell’d at his court. 

Trusting a Cabal # to rule, 

(A term applied to folly’s school) 

Plots to counter-plots succeed ; 

Russel, Sydney, Stafford bleed. 

Vile distrust, inveterate hate, 

Their deadly venom circulate ; 

And public safety seem’d to rest, 

On oaths, and sacramental test p! 

Malignant as the signs appear, 

How bright the mental atmosphere! 

Newton, and Tillotson divine, 

With Burnet, Hobbes, Locke, Shaftsb’ry, shine ; 

And Milton, Dryden, Otway, claim, ^ 

With Hudibrastic Butler’s name, j> 

A proud pre-eminence of fame J ! J 

* The word is here used, as being formed from the initials of the following 
noblemen’s names, Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley, Lauderdale. 

t The Test Act requiring all persons employed under government, to take 
certain oaths, and receive the sacrament, as a pledge of their fidelity to the 
state. 

x Cowley and Waller may be added to the distinguished poets of this reign. 
The English fleet under the command of Prince Rupert, and Monk (now 
Duke of Albemarle) had an engagement with Admiral Ruyter, in which the 
English were worsted. In a subsequent engagement the English gained a 
complete victory, destroying above twenty Dutch men-of-war. Soon after, 
Sir Robert Holmes, burnt two men-of-war, and 150 sail of merchant ships be¬ 
longing to the Dutch. 



NOTES ON CHARLES THE SECOND. 


Charles the Second, by a kind of volcanic impulse, was seated 
on the throne of England; and succeeded at once to all those regal 
prerogatives which it had cost the nation so much blood and con¬ 
fusion, first to abridge, and afterwards to abolish. Extreme were the 
exultations of his subjects at this event. The different civil and reli¬ 
gious parties only vied with each other in loyalty and submission, and 
Charles entered his capital amid loud and universal acclamations. 
An act of indemnity was passed, excluding ihose only who were the 
principal actors in his father’s death ; among whom were Cromwell, 
Ireton, and Bradshaw. A settled revenue was made ; the army 
was disbanded ; and prelacy restored. Passive obedience, and non- 
resistance were the favourite doctrines of the pulpit. At the expi¬ 
ration of two years, Charles married the Infanta of Portugal with a 
portion of three hundred thousand pounds. His extravagance soon 
dissipated that sum, and the unpopular sale of Dunkirk w'as the next 
expedient resorted to for relief. 

A rupture with Holland, France, and Denmark, followed. The 
Dutch fleet entered the Thames, and proceeding up the Medway, 
burnt and destroyed several ships at Chatham. A wasting plague, 
and a dreadful fire, which consumed a great part of the capital, were 
added to the disasters of this period. In 1 667 peace w'as made with 
Holland, and though an alliance was formed to check the ambitious 
designs of the French King (Louis XIV.), Charles soon after, became 
a pensioner and tool in the hands of that very power which his 
subjects most dreaded. 

The party-troubles of this reign originated from a declaration of the 
Duke of York (the King’s brother, and presumptive heir to the crown) 
that he was a convert to the Roman Catholic religion. Divisions in 
the cabinet, rumours of plots, and assassinations, and parliamentary 
contests, exclusively agitated the public mind. A pretended conspi¬ 
racy called the Rye-house plot, implicated the names of Lord Russel, 
and Algernon Sidney ; who, upon the vague and contradictory evi¬ 
dence of a worthless nobleman (Lord Howard) were condemned and 
executed. Antecedent to this, was the Jesuits’ plot, a fabricated tale 
of Titus Oates ; in opposition to which appeared, the meal-tub plot, 
so called from the scheme of the conspiracy being found hidden in 
a meal-tub. 

Among the remarkable events of this reign, may be mentioned the 
daring attempt of Colonel Blood (a disbanded officer of Cromwell) to 
carry off the crown and regalia from the Tower. He was not only 
pardoned, but Charles settled on him a pension of 500/. a year, and 
retained him near his person ! 

The writ of Habeas Corpus, hitherto cramped in its operations, 
was revived in full force, and no longer left to the arbitrary control 
of the Judges. 


58 


JAMES THE SECOND, 

Brother of Charles the Second, married first., Lady Anne, daughter of Edward 
Hvde, Earl of Clarendon and Lord-chancellor.—Eight children were the 
fruit of this marriage. Two daughters only lived to maturity, both ot whom 
succeeded to the throne. The second wife of King James, was Maria Jose- 
phaofEste, daughter of the Duke of Modena, by Laurenza Martmozzi. 
By his last marriage, James had a son, called the “ Old Pretender, who 
died at Rome in 1766, leaving issue two sons, viz., Charles, called the 
“ Young Pretender and James, Cardinal ot York. 

[A. D. 1685.— Reigned 4 years.] 


Intol’rant James in language loud. 

Popish principles avow’d! 

And England’s doom’d once more to feel, 
Bigotry’s infuriate zeal! 

When Monmouth’s vanquish’d, and Argyle, 
Terror electrifies the Isle ! 

Havoc and death begin their work, 

Carv'd out by Jefferies, and Kirk : 

—Demons, whose unrelenting hand. 

Scourged with cruelty the land; 

Trampling with a joy malign, 

On laws both human and divine! 

Not rank, nor sex, nor tott’ring age*, 

Escap’d their mockery, and rage! 

Welcome, the eventful hour, 

Which terminates a tyrant’s f pow’r! 
Execrated through the realm, 

James abdicates the regal helm! 


* Lady Lisle, above eighty years old, was executed for humanely concealing 
two fugitives after the battle of Sedgmoor, and also another Lady by the name 
of Grant. 

t In the library of the Scots College at Paris were found many curious ma¬ 
nuscript anecdotes of the unfortunate James. Nostradamus, who died in 1566, 
has the following passage in his Prophetical Centuries: 


Celui qui la principaut£, 

Tiendra par grande cruaute, 

A la fin vena grande phalange 
Porter coup de feu, tres dangereux. 
Par accord pourra faire mieux ; 

—Autrement, boira Sue d’ Orange. 


He who by cruelty shall strive, 

To keep authority alive, 

Shall soon perceive a phalanx dread, 
Envelope his devoted head! 

—Better by moderation reign, 

Or Orange-juice shall be his Bane ! 





NOTES ON JAMES THE SECOND. 


A fondness for arbitrary power, and an undisguised zeal for the 
church of Rome involved James in ultimate ruin. The Duke of 
Monmouth, a natural son of Charles the Second, rebelled against his 
uncle the reigning King, whom, in his manifesto he called a tyrant, 
and a popish usurper. Monmouth, after his defeat at Sedgmoor in 
Somersetshire, was taken, and executed. Those of his followers who 
escaped death in the field, were delivered over to the unrelenting 
rigour of Judge Jefferies; and the western towns were filled with 
mourning and dismay. So little did the royal mercy interpose, 
that James declared his approbation of these proceedings, by raising 
the Judge, first to the peerage, and next to the chancellorship ; and 
giving to these assizes the jesting title of “ Jefferies’ campaigns.” 
The Duke of Argyle, who had seconded the views of Monmouth 
in Scotland, proved equally unsuccessful, and after enduring many in¬ 
dignities, was publicly executed at Edinburgh. 

James now granted a universal toleration. Tests were of no avail, 
and the army and council were filled with Catholics. A still bolder 
exercise of power followed. The King published a declaration of 
indulgence which was commanded to be read in all the churches. 
Against this ordinance, a petition was drawn up, and signed by seven 
bishops, who were immediately committed to the Tower, and soon 
after, tried, and acquitted amid the universal plaudits of a crow-ded 
court. The general rejoicing extended to the camp at Hounslow, 
and so unpopular was James become, that the birth of a son and 
heir, at this time, was considered as an imposture obtruded on the 
nation. 

James had two daughters, Mary and Anne ; the first married to 
William, Prince of Orange ; the second, to Prince George of Den¬ 
mark. After repeated invitations, William embarked for England. 
The royal army flocked to his standard by whole regiments, and even 
Churchill, afterwards Duke of Marlborough, did not hesitate to betray 
the King who had loaded him with favours. At last, abandoned by 
his own children, James saw himself reduced to a condition pitiable 
even by the meanest of his subjects. He abjectly fled from three 
powerful kingdoms, to exist upon charity, die in exile, and leave a 
posterity to become homeless wanderers upon the earth! 


60 


WILLIAM AND MARY. 

MARY DIED OF THE SMALL POX 1694, LEAVING NO ISSUE. 

[A. D. 1689 .—Reigned 13 years.] 


Sixteen hundred eighty-eight, 
Revolutionized the state ; 

Mary, and William of Nassau, 

Restore religion, freedom, law. 

James, by adverse fortune led, 

To the French Court for succour fled, 
And humbled by his fall’n state, 

Implored the long-liv’d Potentate*. 

Say, what can forfeit-realms regain ? 
—The battle of the Boyne was vain ; 
Another at La Hogue took place, 
Involving Bourbon in disgrace ; 

And to intrepid William fell, 

Namur’s f re captured citadel! 

Exhausted France now sues for peace, 
And wars, by Ryswick’s treaty cease, 
Yet restless friends of exil’d James, 
Avow the Soil’s mysterious claims : 
William to arms indignant flies ; 

—When suddenly the monarch dies ! 


* Louis XIV. 

f Though defended by Boufflers with 16,000 men, and Villeroy was coming 
up at the head of 100,000. 

Among those who persevered in their attachment to the Stuart family were 
the highlanders, in whose favour a proclamation was published inviting them to 
accept a general amnesty before the expiration of the current year. On the 
last day of December 1691, Macdonald, Laird of Glenco, went to Fort Wil¬ 
liam, and otfered to surrender. The governor informed him that he must apply 
to a civil magistrate. This produced the. unavoidable delay of a few hours ; 
but though in the interim, the time prescribed by the proclamation had expired, 
the sheriff at Inverary accepted liis submission, and Macdonald returned in 
full confidence of security and protection. In February following, at the in¬ 
stigation of Sir John Dalrymple, secretary for Scotland, William signed a 
warrant of military execution against Macdonald, and his whole clan. Hu¬ 
manity sickens at a recital of the scenes which followed ; embittered too, by 
a breach of hospitality! The Earl of Breadalbane did not escape suspicion, as 
being the author of this massacre from motives of personal enmity towards the 
Laird of Glenco. 



NOTES ON WILLIAM AND MARY. 


When, on the abdication of James, a regency was proposed to 
the Prince of Orange, and a transfer of the crown to his wife, the 
crafty politician declined accepting the office of regent, and objected 
to the participation of a crown which must depend on the life of 
another. The parliament, though it conceded to his views of sove- 
reignty, circumscribed and defined the royal prerogative; and the 
contract between prince and people, which had hitherto been a dis¬ 
puted theory, became a recorded fact, interwoven with the principles 
of British government. Triennial parliaments were soon after esta¬ 
blished, as the best security against arbitrary power. 

War with France was always a primary object with William, and 
the concurrence of his new subjects was easily obtained for the 
humiliation of a dreaded foe. But the unexpected appearance of 
James in Ireland, where he received every mark of attachment 
from the Catholics, together with the disturbed state of Scotland, 
brooding over the massacre of Glenco, provided ample employment 
for all the disposable force the monarch could collect. The battle 
of the Boyne established William’s military character, and the disas¬ 
ters which befel the French fleet at La Hogue seemed to annihilate 
every hope of James for the recovery of his crown. 

Burning with impatience to embark in the continental war, Wil¬ 
liam placed himself at the head of the grand alliance formed against 
France. Little advantage was gained on either side, till the re-cap¬ 
ture of Namur. The death of the Queen Consort, which happened 
about this time, plunged William into an excess of grief, herdly 
to be reconciled with the subdued feeling he manifested upon other 
occasions. This domestic loss of the sovereign, revived the spirits 
of the jacobites, and encouraged them to hope for the restoration of 
the exiled family. About this time Sir John Fenwick was executed 
for being concerned in a plot to assassinate the King as he returned 
from hunting. 

After a series of wars, productive of no good to the belligerents, 
peace was concluded by the treaty of Ryswick. The pernicious 
practice of borrowing upon remote funds was resorted to ; an expe¬ 
dient which has entailed upon the nation an increasing debt, now risen 
to a magnitude, awful to contemplate ! But William scrupled 
not to employ the engines of corruption to gain his ends. In this 
reign the Bank of England was established ; lotteries were introduced 
and stamp-dudes imposed. 


62 

ANNE STUART, 

SECOND DAUGHTER OF JAMES THE SECOND, BY Mrs. ANNE HYDE, MAR¬ 
RIED TO GEORGE PRINCE OF DENMARK; DIED WITHOUT ISSUE. 

[A. D. 1702. — Reigned 12 years.] , 

UNION OF THE TWO KINGDOMS. 


Brilliant was the reign of Anne! 

Conquest her career began! 

Britain, North and South, became, 

Great by union; Great by name ! 

To distant realms the circling Sun, 

Told the battles Marlb’rough won: 

On the Danube’s deepen’d course, 

He thunder’d with resistless force, 

And Blenheim’s* mem’rable day, 

To future triumph led the way ; 

Malplaquet, Oudenarde, Ramillies, 

Swell the list of victories ! 

Spain, with consternation, view’d, 

Calpe’s commanding rock subdued ; 

And from Valencia to Versailles, 

Dread astonishment prevails ! 

Amid this tide of high renown, 

Chang’d are the councils of the crown : 

—Marlborough’s imperious sway. 

To female cunning falls a prey ! 

Sachev’rel raves with “ Right Divine,” 
Court-preacher, and a Catiline ! 

Tho’ continental struggles cease, 

And Utrecht t gave the nations peace, 

Still Whig and Tory’s party-zeal, 

Corrupt the source of public weal. 

* By this victory, a free and uninterrupted march was left open to the 
confederates from the Danube to the Rhine. Prince Eugene served under 
Marlborough in ail his campaigns. 

f Two years after this peace, died Louis XIV. (in September 1715), having 
reigned seventy-two years. He came to the throne when only four years old. 
In his reign was revoked the Edict of Nantz, the only security of the Pro¬ 
testants against persecution. After his first wife’s death, Louis married Madam 
de Maintenon, widow of the celebrated Scarron. Mazarin was minister during 
his minority. 

The cathedral church of Saint Paul finished by Sir Christopher Wren. 




NOTES ON ANNE. 


I'he splendid and important events of this reign are to be ascribed 
rather to ministers and favourites, than to any decided superiority of 
character on the part of the Queen, who came to the throne with the 
same hostile disposition towards France as her predecessor. Louis 
XIV. had long cherished the hope of placing his grandson on the 
throne of Spain;—a measure calculated to overthrow the balance of 
power so necessary to be kept up among the European states. 

To resist the encroaching views of the French Monarch, war was 
declared, and Marlborough, by the managing policy of his wife, was 
appointed to conduct all operations both in the cabinet and the field. 
For several campaigns, Marlborough’s victories on the continent were 
unexampled, though opposed to Villeroy and Tallard, two of the 
best generals in the French service. 

Amid the rivalry of contending parties which disgraced the court 
of Anne, the influence of a new favourite (Mrs. Mas ham) led to 
Marlborough’s dismissal, and the command of the English army in 
Flanders was transferred to the Duke of Ormond. This change was 
highly gratifying to the Tories, who had long looked with a jealous 
eye on the power possessed by Marlborough, and the Earl of 
Godolphin, his son-in-law. The treasures of the nation, it was said, 
had been lavished on conquests more glorious than serviceable. About 
this time, the loss of a battle near Almanza in Spain, where the 
English army were taken prisoners, tended to exasperate the public 
mind, and dispel the inebriation of former success. The tories did 
not fail to exclaim bitterly at this reverse of fortune, while, Harley, 
afterwards Earl of Oxford, and Henry St. John, now created Earl of 
Bolingbroke, secretly fanned the flame. A quarrel ensuing soon 
after between these two candidates for royal favour, Bolingbroke 
prevailed, and the Lord-treasurer Oxford retired, meditating schemes 
of revenge, and new projects for his return to power. All was eon- 
fusion at court, and the Queen, having no longer strength to bear up 
against the clamour of discontent which every where surrounded her, 
sunk into a state of insensibility, from which death alone relieved her. 

This reign has been considered as the great age of English litera¬ 
ture : and though Elizabeth could boast her Spencer, Shakspeare, 
Jonson, and Fletcher ; the reign of Anne produced Pope, Swift, 
Addison, and his friend Sir Richard Steele. 



64 


GEORGE (LEWIS) THE FIRST, 

SON OF ERNEST-AUGUSTUS, ELECTOR OF HANOVER, BY SOPHIA, OAUGIL 
TER OF FREDERIC, ELECTOR PALATINE, AND JGRAND-DAUGHTER OI- 
JAMES THE FIRST. 

[A. D. 1714 .—Reigned 12 years , 10 months.] 


Beaming from far, behold the day, 

Which gave to Britain, Brunswick’s sway! 

Again the house of Stuart tries, 

From prostrate monarchy to rise ! 

Where Scotland’s cloud-capt hills appear. 

See Mar* * * § the rebel-standard rear; 

The rash Pretender’s hopes are vain! 

—His followers^ dispers’d, or slain ! 

Impeachments !, rancour, party-hate, 

Gangrene the vitals of the state ! 

The South-sea project’s fatal plan, 

With wild infatuation ran, 

’Till sudden burst the bubble-scheme, 

And ruin mark’d delusion’s dream ! 

Where once content, and comfort dwelt, 

Sharp, biting, poverty is felt! 

Parliaments extend their course, 

Assuming a septennial force ; 

And nations with quadruple § chain. 

League to punish haughty Spain. 

* Mar had been Secretary of State, and had taken the oath of allegiance ; 
but on some disgust he retired to the Highlands, and joined the Marquises of 
Huntley, and Tnllibardine, and the Earls of Nithisdale, Errol, Southesk, 
Carnwath, and Seaforth. 

t Earls of Derwentwater, Kenmure, Wintoun, Widdrington, Home, Kin- 
noul, and about 200 other noblemen and gentlemen. The two first were 
beheaded on Tower Hill. Many others were executed, and transported, but 
the greater part received the benefit of an Act of Grace. Lord Nithisdale 
made his escape in woman’s clothes the night before he was to have suffered. 
Foster also, eluding the vigilance of his keepers, reached the continent in safety. 

$ Lords Oxford, Bolingbroke, Ormond, and Stafford impeached as authors 
of the treaty of Utrecht. The two principal ministers of France and England 
were Fleury and Walpole. Addison was Secretary of State. 

§ Germany, France, England, Holland. 

The Riot-act passed. Inoculation first tried on criminals. 

Russia, formerly a dukedom, established as an empire. 



NOTES ON GEORGE THE FIRST. 


High in reputation for valour and natural good sense, though 
little acquainted with the character of the people over whom he was 
going to rule, George the First, threw himself into the arms of the 
Whig party, who, in the delegation of sovereign power, openly main¬ 
tained the paramount superiority of the national will, over any claim 
derived from hereditary right . The recognition of such a principle 
could alone justify the change which had taken place in favour of 
the reigning family. 

A short interval only had elapsed, when the late Tory ministry 
were called to account for their conduct; particularly as it regarded 
the treaty of Utrecht, and several of the leaders were impeached, or 
driven into exile. Tumults arose in various parts of the kingdom, 
and, influenced by the Jacobites, the Earl of Mar set up the standard 
of rebellion in Scotland, and proclaimed the Pretender. After se¬ 
veral actions attended with various success, the insurrection was 
quelled, and the scaffold was crowded with victims. Disaffection to 
the new family however still continued, and so alarming was its 
aspect, that the Whigs, repealing the act of William which made 
parliaments triennial, extended their duration to seven years, in¬ 
cluding themselves in this new-appointed prolongation. A measure 
so directly at variance with all the principles of the constitution, 
came with a peculiar ill grace from men professing popular maxims 
of government. 

With affairs in this unsettled state it was natural for the King to 
regard his German dominions with predilection; but even these 
were menaced by the hostile attitude of Charles XII. of Sweden, 
in conjunction with the Czar Peter. 'The interference of England 
in German politics now showed itself for the first time, and a fleet 
was sent into the Baltic to awe the Swedes, and suspend the rela¬ 
tions of commerce. The death of Charles XII. put an end to 
alarm from that quarter, and secured George in the quiet possession 
of his German territory. 

The ambition of the court of Spain, governed by the enterprising, 
and audacious spirit of Alberoni produced a quadruple alliance 
between England, and France, Holland, and Germany. The defeat 
of the Spanish fleet on the shores of Sicily, enabled the allied powers 
to dictate their own terms. 

Towards the conclusion of this reign a conspiracy was discovered, 
in which Bishop Atterbury was concerned, and for which he was 
sentenced to perpetual banishment. Christopher Layer, a coun- 
cellor of the Temple executed at Tyburn for high treason. 

F 


66 


GEORGE THE SECOND, 

SON OF GEORGE THE FIRST BY SOPHIA DOROTHEA OF THE HOUSE OF 
ZELL, MARRIED WILHELMINA DOROTHEA CHARLOTTA OF BRANDEN- 
BURGH-ANSPACH. 

[A. D. 1727 .—Reigned 33 years.\ 

George the Second’s sceptred hour, 

Prov’d fatal to the Spanish pow’r; 

Lo ! on Panama’s distant coast, 

Vernon* * * § realiz’d his boast; 

Anson, with his gallant crew, 

Brought home the treasures of Peru ; 

Clive, on Asia's burning soil. 

Reap’d the fruit of hardy toil; 

Cullodenf, MindenJ, and Quebec§, 

Albion’s trophied banners deck; 

Hawke, and Boscawen’s squadrons ride, 
Triumphant o’er the ocean’s tide ; 

And, on the pinnacle of fame, 

At Dettingen|| stands George’s name! 

Reverse the scene,—view Lisbon’s doom. 

Lost in the earthquake’s yawning tomb ! 

Or canst thou read with tearless eye, 

Calcutta’s deep-toned tragedy? 


* Vernon took Porto-Bcllo with six ships; though his failure at Carthagena, 
produced such discontent that Walpole resigned, and was succeeded by Sir 
William Pulteney, afterwards Earl of Bath. 

t Near Inverness, where the Pretender’s army was routed by the Duke of 
Cumberland. 

$ In the circle of Westphalia, where Prince Ferdinand defeated the French 
marshal Contades. 

§ Canada, where fell the immortal Wolfe, and his adversary Marquis de 
Montcalm. 

|| Here the King commanded in person, and gave proofs of valour, but not 
of judgment, for he would not suffer Lord Stair to pursue the fugitives, and 
turn the victory to the best advantage. Stair, in disgust gave up the command, 
and the allied army was intrusted to the King’s second son, the Duke of Cum¬ 
berland, in whom the courage of a soldier ill-compensated the want of talent 
as a general. Cumberland lost the battle of Fonteuoy, and the French main¬ 
tained an undoubted superiority in Flanders during the remainder of the cam¬ 
paign. 

Admirals Matthews and Lestock with an inferior force, engaged the com¬ 
bined fleets of France and Spain. It was a drawn battle, and on that account, 
both admirals were tried. Matthews, who fought gallantly, was disgraced : 
Lestock, who had kept aloof was honourably acquitted because he had in¬ 
trenched himself within the punctilios of discipline, he barely did his duty : a 
man of honour, when his country is at stake, should do more ! 

Admiral Byng shot for misconduct at Minorca. 



NOTES ON GEORGE THE SECOND. 


Inheriting his predecessor’s attachment for German politics, 
the new King carried with him a corresponding prejudice into the 
British cabinet. By the treaty of Vienna, George the Second became 
a guarantee of the pragmatic sanction, or law by which females were 
to succeed to the hereditary dominions of Austria. When upon the 
death of Charles the Sixth, France was preparing to disinherit his 
daughter, an English army was sent to the Continent to support her 
cause, and the battle of Dettingen followed. 

Early in this reign, Walpole introduced into Parliament the finan¬ 
cial scheme of a great extension of the excise. Violent opposition 
compelled him to abandon the measure, though most of its provisions 
have been since adopted. 

Disputes had long prevailed between the Spanish court, and Eng¬ 
land, respecting the right of cutting log-wood on the coast of Cam- 
peachy. The rapine and cruelty practised by the Guarda Costas 
of that settlement were loudly complained of by the British merchants, 
whose captured crews lay buried in the living sepulchre of the mines 
of Potosi. After ineffectual attempts to compromise the outrage, 
Walpole was reluctantly driven to hostilities, and Spain suffered in 
the contest. 

The rash enterprise of the Pretender who landed in Scotland, 
(notwithstanding his success at Preston-Pans) was eventually most 
disastrous to himself, and fatal to his followers ; and the j?oung ad¬ 
venturer made his escape to France, after the battle of Culloden, 
under circumstances of peculiar difficulty and hazard. The treaty 
of Aix-la-chapelle in 1748, though censurable in many points, was 
welcomed as a relief from the burdens of war. 

Between two such rival nations as France and England, friendship 
was not likely^ to be durable. In India they were almost constantly 
embroiled as allies to the contending native powers. But it was in 
the wilds of North America, amidst the undefined limits of impene¬ 
trable woods, and impassable morasses that a war was kindled, which 
afterwards spread to every quarter of the globe. For some time, 
events were unfavourable to England till the great William Pitt was 
called to direct the dormant energies of the state. Victories were 
now achieved in rapid succession. The French power in the East 
Indies was annihilated. In America, the reduction of Louisbourg 
was followed by that of Quebec, and the whole province of Canada. 
The island of Guadaloupe, the settlement of Senegal, and the battle 
of Minden, exalted the reputation of British valour. The navy of 
England reigned triumphamt over the seas, while that of France, was 
reduced to insignificance. Still the war in Germany continued, and 
ministers were blamed for acquiescing in the supposed personal 
wishes of the King. In this state of affairs, George the Second, died 
suddenly from a rupture of the right ventricle of the heart. 

f 2 


68 


GEORGE THE THIRD. 

[Began to reign 1760. Reigned 60 Years,] 


When the Third George his reign began, 
(Lengthen’d to the latest span,) 

Proud victories were seen to smile— 
Manilla, Hindostan, Belleisle ; 

Havannah, Martinique, Lucie, 

Bow to British bravery ! 

But, where the vex’d Atlantic roars, 
Arm’d remonstrants* line the shores: 

Great Chatham to their cause inclin’d, 

And but in death that cause resign’d. 

Junius, with appalling pen, 

Dragg’d Corruption from her den: 

Wilkes, for patriotism priz’d. 

General warrants paralyz’d ; 

Incendiaries and bigots cry, 

Gordon’s war-whoop, “ No Popery !” 

With enterprising sail unfurl’d, 

Cook circumnavigates the world ; 
Discovering land in distant climes, 

Since coloniz’d with convict crimes. 

Where Ganges rolls the Hindu stream, 
Bright deeds of British T valour gleam ! 
Where raging hurricanes arise, 

De Grasse, by Rodney vanquish’d, lies. 


* American War; 

f Hastings, Cornwallis. To the former we owe the preservation of our East¬ 
ern Settlements on the coast of Coromandel, at that disastrous period when 
Hyder Ally spread terror and consternation to the gates of Madras. 



GEORGE III. CONTINUED. 


Lo ! shrouded in sepulchral shade, 

The pride of listening Senates laid! 

Mansfield’s, Dunning’s, Thurlow’s mind, 
Forensic energies combin’d. 

Rous’d from slumb’ring reverie, 

North charm’d with wit and repartee : 

Fox , with bold impassion’d sense, 

Pour’d the flood of eloquence ; 

—Rivals, bitter in debate, 

Coalesc’d to rule the State ! 

Till Pitt, the terror of his foes, 

The star of British council, rose ! 

Burke, Wyndham, Sheridan, impress’d .. .• 
Their vivid flashes on the breast ! 

—Sheridan ! whose Attic taste, 

Alike the Stage and Senate grac’d! 

Inscribe on Whitbread’s honour’d bust, 

“ The man who ne’er betray’d a trust!” 

With these, embalm’d, shall Grattan live, 

The proudest record Fame can give ! 

With Revolution’s bursting flame, 

Anarchy and carnage came! 

Tocsins peal’d with loud alarms ; 

Towns, cities, hamlets, flew to arms, 

And, buckling on the cuirass rude, 

Assum’d a fearless attitude ! 

Britain, unmov’d and undismay’d, 

Stood, till the wasting plague was stay’d, 

—And Waterloo’s decisive blow, 

Seal’d Napoleon’s overthrow! 

Come, bind with wreaths the laurel’d brow, 
Of Nelson, Jarvis, Duncan, Howe ! 

On Egypt’s parch’d and barren sands, 

Follow Abercrombie’s bands; 


CTEORGE III. CONTINUED. 


And on Corunna’s fatal shore, 

Lament the sufferings of Moore ! 

Plant with cypress Walcheren’s grave, 
Where by fevers fell the brave! 

Mourn Perceval’s untimely fate, 
(Victim of revengeful hate !) 

Drop the unavailing tear, 

With Leopold, o’er Charlotte’s bier; 

—The nation’s hope ; the nation’s pride 
Ador’d she lived ! lamented died ! 

Bereft of Reason’s guiding ray, 
Enfeebled long the monarch lay; 

In visual and mental gloom, 

He sunk exhausted to the tomb ! 



71 


GEORGE THE THIRD, 

GRANDSON OF GEORGE THE SECOND, 

[A. D. 1760 .—Reiyned 60 years.] 

Married the Princess Charlotte of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, by whom he 
had issue, nine sons, and six daughters. 

George Augustus Frederic, his present Majesty 
born August 12, 1762. Married April 8, 1795 to the Princess 
Caroline of Brunswick Wolfenbuttle, by whom he had issue, 
Charlotte Augusta born January 7, 1796, married to Leopold 
Prince of Saxe-Coburg. She died November 6, 1817. 

Frederic, Duke of York, born August 16, 1763, married 
September 29, 1791, to Frederica Charlotte Ulrica Catha¬ 
rine, eldest daughter of the King of Prussia, who died August 
6, 1820. 

William Henry, Duke of Clarence, born August 21, 1765, 
married July 11, 1818, the Princess of Saxe-Meiningen, by 
whom he has issue, the Princess Elizabeth, born December 
10, 1820. 

Charlotte Augusta Matilda, Princess Royal of England, 
born September 29, 1766, married May 18, 1797 to the King 
of Wirtenburgh. 

Edward, Duke of Kent, born November 2, 1767, married 
May 29, 1818, the Princess Dowager of Leiningen, by whom 
he had issue the Princess Alexandria. His Royal Highness 
died January 23, 1820. 

Princess Augusta Sophia, born November 8, 1768. 

Princess Elizabeth born May 22, 1770, married April 7, 
1818, the Prince of Hesse Homburgh. 


72 


Ernest Augustus, Duke of Cumberland, born June 5 r 1771, 
married, May 29, 1815, Frederica Sophia Caroline, daughter 
of the Duke of Mecklenburgh Strelitz, and has issue, a son. 

Augustus Frederic, Duke of Sussex, born January 27, 1773. 

Adolphus Frederic, Duke of Cambridge, born February 
24, 1774, married May 7, 1818, the Princess of Hesse, and 
has issue, a son. 

Princess Mary, born April 25, 1776, married July 22, 1816, 
His Royal Highness the Duke of Gloucester. 

Princess Sophia, born November 3, 1777. 

Prince Octavius, born February 23,1779, died May 3, 1783. 

Prince Alfred, bom September 22, 1780, died August 20, 
1782. 

Princess Amelia, born August 8, 1783, died October , 

1810. 



73 


CHRONOLOGY 

OF THE 

REIGN OF GEORGE THE THIRD. 


1760. 

Parliament settled the annual sum of eight hundred 
thousand pounds upon the King, for the support of his house¬ 
hold, and the honour and dignity of his crown, or, as it is 
usually called, the Civil List. 

1761. 

The royal marriage and coronation. Secret alliance disco¬ 
vered between France and Spain ; Mr. Pitt and the Earl of 
Temple were for hostilities; the proposition was negatived, 
and they retired from office ; on Mr. Pitt was settled a pen¬ 
sion of three thousand a year for three lives, and his lady 
was created Baroness of Chatham ; war afterwards declared. 

1762. 

The Duke of Newcastle sent in his resignation as first 
lord of the treasury, which was bestowed on Lord Bute. 
Manilla and the Havannah taken, with many other places 
of minor importance. 


1763. 

Peace restored. The national debt one hundred and forty- 
eight millions. 


1764. 

Lord Bute resigned, and was succeeded by Mr. George 



CIIHONOLOG V O F 


‘ 74 

Grenville. A paper, called the North Briton, conducted by 
Wilkes, the author commenting with too much freedom on 
the King’s speech, is sent to the Tower ; after his release, 
not appearing to the indictments preferred against him, he 
was run to an outlawry ; general warrants declared illegal 
by a resolution of both houses. 

1765. 

Stamp act imposed on the American colonies. The Gren¬ 
ville administration forced to give way for that of the Marquis 
of Rockingham. 

1766. 

The Duke of Grafton made first lord of the treasury in the 
room of the Marquis of Rockingham; Mr. Pitt is created 
Earl of Chatham; accepts the office of keeper of the privy 
seal, and forms the present ministry. Affairs of the India 
Company embarrassed by the rapacity and extortion of its 
servants ; Lord Clive sent out, and concluded an advan¬ 
tageous treaty with the Mogul. 

1767. 

The colony of New York refuse to furnish his majesty’s 
troops with necessaries in their quarters, pursuant to an act 
passed in the British House of Commons ; and afterwards, the 
Americans forbid the importation of European commodities, 
or rather those of British growth and manufacture. 

1768. 

A new parliament called; Mr. Wilkes returned for the 
county of Middlesex, though the sentence of his outlawry re¬ 
mained in full force ; the legality of his seat confirmed ; sur¬ 
renders himself to the court of King’s Bench, by whom the 
outlawry was reversed, and he was sentenced to suffer an 
imprisonment of two years, and pay a fine of a thousand 
pounds; subscriptions were successfully opened for his re- 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


75 


lief, and for the payment of his debts, amounting to twenty 
thousand pounds or more. 


1769. 

In the expectation that Wilkes would take his seat in the 
House, a vast concourse of people assembled in St. George’s 
Fields; the riot act was read, the military were called out, 
and one man lost his life ; the magistrates were thanked for 
their spirited conduct in a public letter, which Wilkes com¬ 
mented on with so much severity that he was expelled the 
House; the freeholders of Middlesex re-elected him, but 
his election was declared void, and Colonel Luttrell was re¬ 
turned as the legal member, though Wilkes had a great 
majority of votes. 


1770. 

The Grenville Act passed for regulating controverted elec¬ 
tions ; Lord Chatham and the Duke of Grafton resigned. 
Lord North came into power;—during his administration the 
American war was begun, conducted without prudence, and 
concluded without honour or advantage. The French were 
quietly suffered to make a conquest of Corsica. A rupture to 
be apprehended with Spain on account of Falkland’s Island, 
and which drew from the pen of Dr. Johnson an admired 
pamphlet. 


1771. 

A messenger of the House of Commons came into the 
city, and took a printer into custody for publishing debates 
connected with the Middlesex election; the parties were 
brought before the lord-mayor, (Crosby,) who, with Aider- 
man Oliver and Wilkes, discharged the printer, but held 
the messenger to bail, for daring to execute a writ in the 
city, without an order from the magistrate; the two former, 
as members of the House, were ordered to attend in their 
place, and were sent to the Tower where they remained till 


7f> 


CHRONOLOGY OF 


the end of the session; Wilkes refused to appear, unless he 
was permitted to take his seat for Middlesex. In India, a 
famine carried off ten millions of people, one-third of the 
inhabitants ; the calamity was increased by the company’s 
servants buying up the rice, the chief or almost the only 
food of the natives, (the Pythagorean system prohibiting 
them the use of animal food.) 

1772. 

A bill was passed, enacting that the members of the 
royal family shall be incapable of contracting marriage, with¬ 
out the previous consent of the King, or his successors on the 
throne, signified under the great seal, and declared in coun¬ 
cil. An alteration was made in the criminal law of the kingdom. 
Felons refusing to plead, were to be adjudged guilty of the 
crimes laid to their charge, instead of being sentenced to 
expire under an incumbent weight. The dismemberment of 
Poland by the Emperor of Germany, the King of Prussia, 
and the Empress of Russia. Revolution in Sweden and Den¬ 
mark. The latter was effected through the intrigues of the 
Queen Dowager, and the King’s half brother Prince Fre¬ 
deric; Struenzee and Brandt brought to the block; even the 
Queen Consort Matilda, sister to his Britannic Majesty 
narrowly escaped with her life; she died a few years after 
at Zell in Germany; a supreme court of judicature esta¬ 
blished at Bengal, consisting of a chief justice, and three in¬ 
ferior judges. 


1773. 

Considerable emigrations to America from Ireland and 
Scotland. Captain Cooke engaged in sailing round the world 
a third time, is murdered by the natives of Owhyhee. The 
American colonies deny Great Britain the right of taxation, 
showing determined resistance, particularly at Boston. 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


77 


1774. 

The file which had been kindled so Iona; between this 
country and America now broke out into an open flame; Ge¬ 
neral Gage had a skirmish with a provincial force at Lexing¬ 
ton ; he retreated to Boston, which was soon after blockaded 
by twenty thousand native militia; the congress approved 
of the steps that had been taken, and passed a resolution, 
declaring that the compact between the crown, and the people 
of Massachuset’s Bay, was dissolved; General Gage published 
a proclamation of pardon to all, excepting Hancock and 
Adams, upon which the Congress immediately chose the 
former for their president. 

1775. 

The battle of Bunker’s Hill, where the enemies rifle corps 
did great execution among the British officers ; Mr. Wash¬ 
ington, one of the delegates for Virginia, appointed to be com¬ 
mander-in-chief of all the American forces. 

1776. 

General Howe evacuated Boston ; unsuccessfid attack upon 
Charlestown, South Carolina, by General Clinton, and Sir 
Peter Parker ; the Americans publish their famous declaration 
of independence, and obtain some advantages on the Dela¬ 
ware ; France and Spain open their ports to American pri¬ 
vateers, suffering them to dispose of the rich prizes taken 
from British merchants, and supplying the enemy with war¬ 
like stores, and able engineers. 

1777. 

Dr. Dodd executed for forgery. Engagement between 
Washington and Howe on the banks of the Brandywine river, 
in which the enemy were obliged to yield to the superior dis¬ 
cipline of the English troops ; General Burgoyne capitulates 
to the Americans at Saratoga, and with his army embarks 


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> 


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78 


CHRONOLOGY OF 


for England; Lord Pigot Governor of Madras, while executing 
the orders of the directors, was seized and imprisoned by the 
leading members of the council; his high sense of feeling 
could not brook the indignity, and he died soon after. 

1778. 

The French openly espoused the cause of America, and 
though war had not been formally declared between Great 
Britain and France, fleets were fitted out on both sides; 
d’Orvillers commanded the French sqaudron, Admiral Keppel 
the English; a running fight took place, but no decisive ac¬ 
tion ; Keppel was accused of not having done his duty ; he 
was tried on a charge brought against him by Palliser (the 
second in command) but was honourably acquitted; Palliser 
was tried for disobedience of orders, and was partly acquitted 
and partly condemned ; died the celebrated Earl of Chatham. 

1779. 

Commissioners sent out to compromise with America; 
overtures of a pecuniary nature having been made to Mr. 
Feed, an American general, to promote the desired reconci¬ 
liation, he replied, “ I am not worth purchasing, but such as 
1 am, the King of Great Britain is not rich enough to do it.” 
The King of Spain follows the example of France in acknow¬ 
ledging the independence of the American colonies. 

1780. 

Mr. Burke introduced a bill for curtailing public expendi¬ 
ture ; Admiral Rodney defeats a Spanish squadron and Bon 
Langara, off Gibraltar ; the reduction of Charlestown, by 
Sir Henry Clinton, and the defeat of General Gates by Lord 
Cornwallis ; disgraceful riots in London, arising from some 
indulgences granted by parliament to Roman Catholics; Lord 
George Gordon tried and acquitted. 


> 



) V* 

ON ) 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


79 


1781. 

A desperate engagement off the Dogger-bank between 
Admiral Hyde Parker, and Admiral Zoutman, which ended 
in a drawn battle. Earl Cornwallis, in Virginia, surrenders 
himself and his army to General Washington. Victory 
over Hyder Ally, and the Mahrattas, by Warren Hastings. 

1782. 

Unsuccessful attack of the Spaniards upon Gibraltar. 
Change in the ministry, at the head of which was the Marquis 
of Rockingham, Lord John Cavendish, Mr. Fox, Lord 
Shelburne, Mr. Burke, and the Duke of Richmond; Lord 
Thurlow was the only member in the late cabinet, who retained 
his situation ; death of the Marquis of Rockingham, who 
was succeeded by the Earl of Shelburne; the appointment 
of this latter nobleman, avowedly hated by Mr. Burke, led 
to the resignation of Mr. Fox, Lord John Cavendish and 
others; Rodney’s victory over De Grasse; the independence 
of America acknowledged. 


1783. 

Coalition between Mr. Fox and Lord North : Mr. Fox’s 
bill, for regulating the affairs of India, excited so strong an 
opposition, that the author withdrew from the cabinet; Lord 
Temple, and Mr. Pitt came into office. 

1784. 

Peace with Holland and America; commemoration of Han¬ 
del. The royal assent given to Mr. Pitt’s East India bill. 
Death of Dr. Samuel Johnson. 

\ » 

1785. 

Mail-coaches established; Mr. Pitt’s proposition for a 
reform in parliament negatived. 


I 


80 CHRONOLOGY OF 

U 

t / 

1786. 

A wretched female maniac attempts the life of the King, 
a colony established in New Holland, for the reception of 
convicts. 


1787. 

Treaty of navigation and commerce with France. Im¬ 
peachment of Warren Hastings; England and Prussia unite 
to prevent France from assisting the Dutch malcontents, and 
the Stadholder is established in the government of the united 
Provinces. 


1788. 

Died, at Rome, Prince Charles Lewis Casimir Stewart, the 
Pretender, who headed the rebellion in 1745. Treaty of de¬ 
fensive alliance between Great Britain, Prussia, and the States- 
general of Holland. Indisposition of His Majesty, in Novem¬ 
ber; the Prince of Wales appointed Regent, with limitations 
and restrictions. 


1789. 

On the 10th of March was announced the King’s recovery; 
the 22d April was observed as a day of thanksgiving; his 
Majesty (attended by the whole royal family), went to St. 
Paul’s church in state, and was greeted with unbounded 
tokens of loyalty and affection ; in the evening, the most uni¬ 
versal and splendid illuminations ever known. 

1790. 

Aggression of the Spaniards at Nootka Sound, by their 
seizure of two vessels belonging to his Majesty’s subjects, 
and navigated under the British flag ; an immense armament 
was prepared to resent the insult; bnt in November, a con¬ 
vention was ratified at the palace of the Escurial, and a right 
established permitting British vessels to carry on a whale- 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


81 


fishery in any part of the Pacific Ocean, or of the Southern 
Seas, or form settlements on any part of the coast of Ame¬ 
rica not already occupied; Tippoo Saib, the son and suc¬ 
cessor of Hyder Ally, disturbs the British possession in the 
East; hostilities continued for two years, at the end of which 
(in 1792) Lord Cornwallis invested Seringapatam, and the 
Sultan was compelled to accept ignominious terms of peace. 

1791. 

A bill was introduced by Mr. Fox, declaratory of the 
power of jurors, enabling them to be judges both of the law, 
and of the fact; the King and Queen of France, attempting 
to make their escape, are stopped at Varennes, and brought 
back to Paris ; Mr. Wilberforce’s bill prohibiting the further 
importation of slaves into the British colonies was lost; a 
fleet was prepared to act against Russia, then at war with 
the Ottoman Porte; but the measure was shortly after aban¬ 
doned ; marriage of the Duke of York, at Berlin. 

1792. 

A bill for the gradual abolition of the slave trade was 
passed by the Commons, but rejected by the Lords; the 
French revolution; by which the King was deposed, and put 
to death, and monarchy abolished; the Duke of Brunswick's 
unfortunate campaign in France ; success of General Du- 
mourier at Jemappe. 


1793. 

The French national convention declared war against tht 
King of Great Britain: the latter entered into alliance with 
Prussia and Germany for the restoration of the Bourbon 
family; decapitation of the French King; British troops 
under the command of the Duke of York, and in conjunc¬ 
tion with the allies, besieged and took the city of Valenci¬ 
ennes ; defeat of the English at Dunkirk ; the Queen of Franc# 

G 


82 


CHRONOLOGY OF 


beheaded; the fleets of England and Spain made themselves 
masters of Toulon, but it was afterwards given up. 

1794. 

To resist a threatened invasion, armed associations were 
formed in every part of the kingdom ; on the 2d of June, Earl 
Howe obtained a signal victory; in the East and West Indies, 
the British took possession of the colonies and settlements of 
the enemy; dissensions among the allies, and the evacuation 
of Flanders. 

1795. 

The war continued with various success; defection of the 
King of Prussia; Lord Bridport won a naval battle off FOrient; 
marriage of the Prince of Wales; the King, in a message to 
parliament, intimated a willingness to negotiate with the 
French executive power, the overture was unsuccessful; cap¬ 
ture of the Cape of Good Hope; conclusion of Hastings's 
trial. 

1796. 

A revolution in the United Provinces, by which they be¬ 
came the allies of France ; Spain followed the example; a 
second attempt at negotiation was made through Lord 
Malmesbury, but equally as unsuccessful as before. 

1797. 

The bank restrained from making payments in specie ; Sir 
John Jervis defeats the Spanish fleet off Cape St. Vincent, 
and obtains the title of Earl St. Vincent; a mutiny among 
the seamen of the fleets then lying at Spithead, and the Nore; 
victory over the Dutch fleet off Camperdown, by Admiral, 
afterwards Lord Duncan; a third unsuccessful attempt was 
made for negotiating with the ruling power of France at 
Lisle ; death of Edmund Burke and John Wilkes. 


THE REIGN' OF GEORGE III. 


83 


1798. 

Buonaparte and the French fleet sail to Egypt; battle of 
the Nile ; rebellion in Ireland, which rendered the measure 
ot a union desirable, and which was carried into elfect the 
following year. 


1799. 

Siege of Acre by Buonaparte, and heroically defended by 
Sir Sidney Smith; the Duke of York made an unsuccessful 
attempt on Holland, assisted by Sir Ralph Abercrombie; war 
in India; death of Tippoo ; Buonaparte returns from Egypt, 
and writes a letter to the King of Great Britain. 

1800. 

Battle of Marengo ; the King fired at in Drury-Lane The¬ 
atre by Hatfield. 


1801. 

Denmark, Sweden, and Russia unite with France in an 
armed neutrality : Denmark having refused to withdraw from 
the Northern alliance, Copenhagen is bombarded by Lord 
Nelson ; the French government prepare to attack Portugal; 
an expedition planned against Egypt, and the command given 
to Sir Ralph Abercrombie; a general action took place in 
which the British troops were successful, but in which Sir 
Ralph Abercrombie fell; Major-general Hutchinson succeeds 
to the command ; Cairo surrenders ; Alexandria capitulates, 
and the French evacuate Egypt; Mr. Pitt retires from office; 
Mr. Addington becomes his successor; Peace of Amiens. 

1802. 

Abbot chosen speaker in the room of Sir John Mitford, 
appointed Lord Chancellor of Ireland, with the title of Lord 
Redesdale. 

q 2 


84 


CHRONOLOGY OF 


1803. 

Message from his Majesty on the hostile preparations of 
France and Holland; curious conversation between the First 
Consul and Lord Whitworth; hostilities recommenced, and 
Buonaparte threatens to invade England. 

1804. 

Death of the Duke d’Enghien; Addington resigns, and 
Pitt succeeds him; War declared by the Spaniards against 
England ; Buonaparte crowned Emperor of the French. 

1805. 

Buonaparte addresses a letter to the King, an answer is 
returned by Lord Mulgrave ; an alliance concluded between 
England, Austria, Russia, and Sweden; battle of Trafalgar; 
death of Lord Nelson. 


1806. 

Battle of x4usterlitz; death of Mr. Pitt; a new adminis¬ 
tration formed; Lord Grenville appointed first lord of the 
treasury, Mr. Fox secretary of state for foreign affairs, and 
Mr. (now Lord) Erskine Lord High Chancellor; abolition of 
the slave trade; death of Mr. Fox; defeat of the Prussian 
army at Jena; treaty at Tilsit between Russia and France. 

1807. 

A bill in favour of the catholics (having passed both 
Houses of Parliament) was presented for the royal signature ; 
this the King not only refused, but wished his ministers to 
declare they would abandon the measure for ever; they de¬ 
clined, and, on the resignation of Lord Erskine and others, 
Lord Eldon, the Duke of Portland, and other friends of the 
late Mr. Pitt, supplied their places; Buenos Ayres, through 
the misconduct ol General Wkitelock, left in possession of 
the enemy. 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


85 


1808. 

An expedition (under the command of Lords Gambier and 
Macartney,) subdued the Danes; the regent of Portugal 
unwilling to accede to the proposals of Napoleon, (by shut¬ 
ting his ports against the British,) withdrew to the Brazils, 
and remained under the protection of the English; the 
Spanish monarch was prevailed on to abdicate in favour of 
his son, who was made prisoner by Buonaparte, and Joseph 
(Napoleon’s brother) placed on the throne of Spain; a power¬ 
ful force, commanded by Sir Arthur Wellesley, sent by the 
English to the assistance of the peninsula; Loison, the 
French general, defeated at Roleia; also Junot at Vimeira; 
with this last a treaty was concluded; Denmark (assisted by 
England) declared war against Sweden ; Russia sent an army 
into Swedish Finland, which was soon ceded to the Emperor 
Alexander. 

1809. 

Sir John Moore (after many hardships) obtained a victory 
over the French forces at Corunna, but lost his life in the 
engagement. Buonaparte defeated the Austrians, and com¬ 
pelled them to make peace on his own terms; Sir Arthur 
Wellesley, having defeated the French, and driven them 
from Portugal, pursued them to Talavera, where he obtained 
a brilliant victory, and, for his transcendent bravery, was 
created Viscount Wellington; a general jubilee was observed 
in the United Kingdom on George III. entering the fiftieth 
year of his reign; Walcheren and Flushing surrendered to 
Lord Chatham and Sir Richard Strachan; various naval suc¬ 
cesses obtained by Lords Gambier, Cochrane, Collingwood 
and Sir James Saumarez; the reduction of some important 
islands in the West Indies also took place this year. 

1810. 

Buonaparte married Maria Louisa, daughter of the Em 


86 


CHRONOLOGY OF 


peror of Austria; the crown-prince of Sweden died, and 
Bernadotte, a general of Buonaparte's, succeeded him ; Hol¬ 
land annexed to France; Lord Wellington obtained a victory 
at Busaco ; death of the Princess Amelia ; the King again 
attacked by his former malady. 

1811. 

The Prince of Wales appointed Regent under certain re¬ 
strictions ; General Graham obtained a victory at Barrossa; 
Sir W. Beresford gained the battle of Albuera. 

1812. 

The restrictions on the regency bill withdrawn; Lord 
Castlereagh appointed secretary of state for foreign affairs; 
the assassination of Mr. Perceval by Bellingham, and Mr. 
Vansittart appointed chancellor of the exchequer in his place; 
the capture of Ciudad Rodrigo and Badajos ; evacuation of 
Portugal by the French; the army, under the command of 
Lord Wellington, enter Madrid, having first gained a decided 
victory at Salamanca; an alliance between England and 
Russia; Moscow burnt; war declared by the Americans ; 
a treaty concluded between England and Ru&sia with Prus¬ 
sia ; the battle of Vittoria; the forts of San Sebastian and 
Pampeluna surrender to the British arms. 

1813. 

The battle of Dresden; death of General Moreau ; battle 
of Leipsic. 

1814. 

The allies enter Paris; Buonaparte signs his abdication, 
and retires to Elba; the city of Washington taken and 
burnt by the British; peace confirmed between England and 
France ; arrival in England of the Emperor of Russia and 
King of Prussia; peace with America. 


THE REIGN OF GEORGE III. 


87 


1815 . 

Napoleon Buonaparte, having escaped from Elba, landed 
in France, and marched to Paris, which he entered without 
opposition, the Bourbon family having previously fled from 
the capital; battle of Waterloo, and defeat of Napoleon* 
who is banished to St. Helena; the allies re-enter Paris; 
Louis XVIII. returns, and is again restored to his crown; 
death of Mr. Whitbread. 


1816 . 

War in India successfully terminated under the command 
of the Marquis of Hastings; marriage of the Princess 
Charlotte of Wales with the Prince of Saxe-Coburg; Algiers 
bombarded by an English and Dutch fleet, and the Dey 
compelled to abolish Christian slavery; death of Mr. She¬ 
ridan . 


1817 . 

Serious riots in the manufacturing districts ; suspension 
of the Habeas Corpus act; trials for high treason; death of 
the Princess Charlotte of Wales. 

1818 . 

The French territory evacuated by the allied army of ob¬ 
servation; death of her Majesty Queen Charlotte. 

1820 . 

Death of His Royal Highness the Duke of Kent; death of 
His Majesty George III. 


THE END. 


LONDON: 

PRINTED BY WILLIAM CLOWES, 
Nortbumberland-ccmrt. 










ERRATA. 


Page Line 

16 3 j for reigned 86 years, read 56 years. 

20 8 for hourly his sufferings increase, read his sufferings 

hourly increase 

25 31 for varicious, read avaricious. 

26 the last line of the foot notes, for Henry married Lady 

Catherine Swynford, read Henry’s father mar¬ 
ried Lady Catherine Swynford. 

43 31 for or, read of. 

48 13 for counsel, read council. 

52 13 for capacious, read capricious. 

65 32 for Germon, read German, 































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